HELP! Change of address on Reception application

[ChanandlerBongsNeighbour]

I have recently moved house. I submitted my child's reception application well before deadline day. The admissions portal said address could be changed via my personal details page in the portal/login area. Obviously the house move had been in the pipeline for a few months before the admissions deadline but I didn't fill it in before deadline day as obviously house moves are notoriously fickle and I didn't want to risk anything.

So now, here I am, finally in new house. Looking at the admissions page and it tells me that change of addresses after Feb 1st will mean that previous applications are discarded and the new application will be treated as late.

I am pretty peed off to be honest! There was no mention of this on the admissions portal! So for the sake of moving 0.6 miles down the road, my application is going to be unfairly graded as late!!

Am I the only one who thinks this is totally unfair?? I want to complain to someone!!!!

[SueDunome]

Sorry, I don't think this is unfair. At many schools, the address is absolutely key to whether or not you get a place.

If you've moved closer to the school, you might have a case but if you've moved further away then it is fair, provided it is clearly stated in the admissions policy.

[ChanandlerBongsNeighbour]

I suppose my point would be it's unfair that's it out of my control! To the best of my abilities I filled in the forms on time yet due to the fact that my house move completed literally just after the deadline (through no fault of my own) I am now classed as a late applicant! There must be a better system surely!

[ChanandlerBongsNeighbour]

I also did read up on it prior to moving and it certainly wasn't clear that changing the address after the deadline would result in late classification! (Not that that would have made a difference as I wouldn't have been able to change it earlier).

[PinkAvocado]

If there was nothing about this in the admissions info then I’d be annoyed too!

[ChanandlerBongsNeighbour]

I am, of course, just venting. Thoroughly pissed off as, like most people, the school place is absolutely fundamental to us (sibling in same school) and no way to manage different schools.

[SoupDragon]

At many schools, the address is absolutely key to whether or not you get a place.

So why penalise someone for making sure their address is correct?

[ChanandlerBongsNeighbour]

Annoyingly, the admissions portal is now inaccessible/closed, so I can't go back and read the information I read before to check if it was my own misunderstanding or whether it genuinely wasn't clear!

[ChanandlerBongsNeighbour]

Also, from what I know of the area/schools, the distance we have moved is unlikely in itself to make a difference to the outcome of the application. What is less clear though is whether being classed as late and going to the bottom of the pile will have an adverse effect!!

[ChanandlerBongsNeighbour]

I have a full bound paper guide to the admissions process in my classroom (I'm a teacher, oh the irony!) so I will be going through it cover to cover tomorrow!

[SuburbanRhonda]

You need to know how the school allocates places. Are siblings at the top of the priority oist? If they are, you should be ok.

However, recently the sibling rule has changed in some schools in my area because you would get families getting one child in, then moving miles away but still getting siblings in in front of children who lived locally.

Have a look at the admissions criteria before you panic!

[ChanandlerBongsNeighbour]

Admissions policy simply states:

"Any change of address after submitting the application must be notified to the admissions team and the application will be reviewed using the new address"

No mention of it being bumped down to a late application.

[BrieAndChilli]

I assume you have postal redirect set up? I would wait until you get the place and then change the address directly with the school.

[BrieAndChilli]

Even if you are a sibling a late application will only be looked at once all the ontime ones have been allocated so people far away with jo siblings will get a place and only IF any places left over will you get it (you will be top of the list for late applications)

[ChanandlerBongsNeighbour]

Yes we have redirection set up. As I have changed addresses for council tax though I am wary of proceeding with the old address and risking accusation of a fraudulent application!

[ChanandlerBongsNeighbour]

We are category 5 out of 7 (and would have been the same with both old and new address).

[SueDunome]

So why penalise someone for making sure their address is correct?

It is very common for families to do this (normally by renting) to abuse the system and then move back again as soon as they have a place, as SuburbanRhonda has also stated.

[NancyJoan]

It’s annoying, but even if you had known in advance, there’s nothing you could have done differently.

[ChanandlerBongsNeighbour]

Worst case scenario would be that DD goes to another school until a place becomes available. I don't think it take long as the school has a very transient community with lots of in-year movement.

But still, the thought of dropping her off at a strange/new school when she has done a year in the current school nursery and then going off to 'her' school with her sibling just makes me want to cry!

[ChanandlerBongsNeighbour]

NancyJoan that's what makes it extra frustrating!!

[macthecat]

Am I missing something? Why do you need to tell them about the new address? Esp if postal redirection in place?

[RandomMess]

I guess inform them in writing with a letter explaining that this information was not on the admissions criteria page etc

The legal beagles on school admissions may be able to shed light on whether they can do this not having declared it on the application information?

[ChanandlerBongsNeighbour]

Because our new address is approx 0.2 miles further away from the school than the previous address, there is a chance of being accused of using the closer address to increase my chances of a place?

[MaverickSnoopy]

We had this when we moved 2 years ago - except it was clearly stated in the information pack that you needed to confirm your address by x date. There was also a separate section which was quite open to interpretation and to pin it down I phoned up and I had to really repeat myself until I got a proper answer. Basically I was told that if we weren't able to confirm our address by the deadline there was a second deadline for late address changes due to moving house. Fine and wouldn't be classed as late but would be classed as a second round. So in the end I made the date a condition of exchange, that we exchanged a week before so I could get a letter from the solicitor laying out all of the details which the LA seemed to accept. Sorry OP but trust no one. If the information isn't available online, or if it seems clear, then always assume the worst and get it locked down. I know it's pessimistic and seems like a lot of work, but I've saved myself so much agro.

May I suggest calling and asking what they suggest. Give them the new address and ask how and when your application will be dealt with; it may not be that cut and dry.

[SuburbanRhonda]

We are category 5 out of 7 (and would have been the same with both old and new address).

Do you mean 5 of 7 admission criteria? What are the four above you?

[ChanandlerBongsNeighbour]

Criteria one is LA children, criteria two: children with medical needs, criteria three: children in catchment with sibling, criteria four: children in catchment, criteria five: children out of catchment with sibling.