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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Lying to get into non catchment school...

86 replies

Thelovecats · 14/04/2015 12:49

Not really an AIBU, more wanting to know if this is really a thing people do.
We live on an island, where everyone gets a place at their catchment school. recently I have found that someone I know is about to arrange a 'rental' of a property in their chosen catchment and is fabricating a story about splitting up with their husband in order to get their kid into their chosen school (they have already been refused the original application).
So, I'm curious, how common is this elsewhere? What happens if they get found out? I'm not bothered by people applying to whatever school they like, but I don't think I could lie to get a place. Could you? Have you? I don't want to discuss this with anyone I know IRL because I don't want to get the person into trouble.

OP posts:
Happening · 14/04/2015 12:54

I couldn't because

  1. I think it is totally immoral. Yes, the school admissions system sucks, but to be honest I don't think there is a way to do it that would make it fair to everyone
  2. I would worry about being found out

Good luck to everyone waiting to hear on Thursday!

MangoJuggler · 14/04/2015 12:54

Worst case scenario is the children's places being withdrawn.

Checks are made by the Admissions team at the LEA (am assuming England btw)

I wouldn't do it but we are in the countryside with little choice anyway. So a moo point for me

PtolemysNeedle · 14/04/2015 13:07

It does happen a lot, although I think it's less now than it used to be since LEAs have cottoned on and stamped down on it.

I would do it if I had to, and I'd feel I had to if my child was only being offered a school that was failing or that had low standards of behaviour and achievement.

pocketsaviour · 14/04/2015 13:07

I don't think it's right but I know it does happen.

Apparently one of the most common uses of CCTV by local authorities is to check up on parents who they suspect are claiming they live in a different catchment, usually by having their post redirected to a friend or relative.

TheWitTank · 14/04/2015 13:19

A family in our village did this. They wanted their daughter to go to a school approximately 5/6 miles away instead of our local down the road. They rented out their house on a short term lease (6 months) and rented a house in the other village. They got their daughter into the school. Back fired a bit though as their tenant trashed their gorgeous period home, ruined all the floorboards, left drug paraphernalia everywhere and scarpered. Cost a good £20,000 to repair. And the school they tried so desperately to get into is now in special measures.

CloserToFiftyThanTwenty · 14/04/2015 13:22

It's common to varying degrees in the London "hot spots" around over subscribed schools, to the extent that some councils have dedicated teams to investigate addresses used for applications

(Is no one else curious about the island OP lives on?!)

sparechange · 14/04/2015 13:34

It is rife in my bit of South London. Our local forum is jam packed with threads about it.
The usual ruse is to rent somewhere small in the catchment area while the family home is being 'refurbished' for a year or more, and then move straight back when the place is confirmed.
The two most popular primaries now have catchments of 300m from the school, and the ex-LA flats within the catchment rent for twice as much as those just outside.
The parents only have to do it once, because siblings automatically get places, so all the roads are snarled with traffic at pick up and drop of times, because all the pupils are coming from miles away.
I think the school turn a bit of a blind eye to it, because it is the 'naice' pushy parents who do this, which keeps the school full of 'naice' children.
The council are now looking into removing the automatic places for siblings to see if that will sort it out, but the whole thing is a farce

Icimoi · 14/04/2015 13:46

It's pretty stupid. Local authorities are well aware of these scams and they do check. There's an excellent chance that the place will be withdrawn and their child will then be at the end of the queue; she will probably end up in some school miles away that is the opposite of what they want.

kewtogetin · 14/04/2015 13:53

Our lea has a dedicated team who's job it is to find these people out, from going through their Facebook pages to checking through their rubbish, no stone is left unturned.....

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 14/04/2015 13:53

As well as what everyone else has said I can't believe no-onw has commented on this bit:

is fabricating a story about splitting up with their husband

WTAF. Thats not exactly thinking about what's best for your child. Is dad going to live separately? Is the child going to be told to lie? Whatever the logistics surely it is going to be very distressing and confusing for a 4 year old!

meditrina · 14/04/2015 14:12

It might be a Scottish island? And that would make residence within the catchment relevant.

Much of E/W does not have catchments, so it wouldn't be possible to move from one into another. And as the move post-dates a rejection, she's not going to get into desired school on a non-catchment, by-distance late application as chances are it'll be full of on-time applicants.

Given that the timing might be out of synch with the home nations, I'm wondering if the catchment is actually a Parish and it's the Channel Islands.

zipzap · 14/04/2015 14:15

Schools around here have started to split their categories up so that siblings out of catchment come below in catchment children. It's a simple thing but would help to stop those people that 'move' like this to get their first child in and rely on siblings following on their coat tails. Would be a pain for a few people who have genuinely moved - particularly if catchment areas move or shrink - but could make those that have tried to play the system think twice.

And I don't think it's right that they lie to get in - would be very tempted to report them to the council anonymously if they do through with their plan.

Original poster
Thelovecats · 14/04/2015 14:27

V similar to channel Islands. Worst case for them is that they would still not get a place and would take up the place in their catchment school. There is no application for schools by preference here, only registration for your catchment school, unless you try your chances at a non catchment one. I hope the splitting up idea is not what they go with. Feels like tempting fate. Also, I doubt there is a big investigation process here- I have never heard of anyone doing this here before.
I would rather they actually moved house, or went private if they felt that strongly. Both primaries in question feed into the same secondary anyway!

OP posts:
101handbags · 14/04/2015 14:32

Very common round my way. Heads have been known to hire private detectives. Parents have been caught.

101handbags · 14/04/2015 14:33

Very common round my way. Heads have been known to hire private detectives. Parents have been caught.

Original poster
Thelovecats · 14/04/2015 14:37

I should say before someone mentions, the place in question is famous for motorbike races and cats without tails... I don't really want it to be searchable for by writing the place name!

OP posts:
Andrewofgg · 14/04/2015 14:42

Abolishing sibling preference is absurd. It would lead to a massive increase in school-running and it would be physically impossible for some parents to do both runs. I don't know what the solution is but that is not part of it.

And that's assuming that it's a problem. For many HT's parents like this are just what they want; committed types who value education. I can see many just not wanting to know.

sparechange · 14/04/2015 14:43

zipzap
That is what my council is looking at.
I'm all for it. Currently, you get people who cherry pick the best of both worlds - the school in the 'naice' bit they can't afford a house in, and then the bigger house in somewhere that isn't naice enough for them to want their DCs mixing with the local kids. Sod THAT. If you want the house, you become part of the community!

momtothree · 14/04/2015 14:50

Hi i have heard this happening Bit closer to the capital though. They changed the rules so now parents are finding ways of playing the system.

sparechange · 14/04/2015 14:50

Andrew Abolishing sibling preference when the sibling is out of catchment isn't absurd...
It means parents have to factor schools in when deciding to move house locally, just like they do when they decide to move house outside the immediate vicinity.
This isn't something that is being taken lightly, but when there is mass abuse of the current system, which has resulted in a huge amount of school running, because children living right by schools are having to go miles away to other schools, while the pupils of those schools are coming from miles away. Come down here at 3pm on a weekday and look at the amount of cars clogging roads around schools which have a catchment area of 300m. That is absurd.

stilllearnin · 14/04/2015 15:04

My dc are more or less in secondary but I agree sibling link should be separated. I wish it wasn't as we are in that situation now. My ds was out of school and when he was ready to return a place came up at a fantastic school 5 miles away in year 8. His sister has not got in for year 7 as she is too far down the pecking order as an out of catchment sibling. That school was specifically built for that housing estate and we knew that when we put ds there (the secondary in our street was full!). I think that it's fair that the people living in that area got higher priority than my dd even though I am desperate to get her in, appealing etc).

SabrinnaOfDystopia · 14/04/2015 15:15

I have known 3 families who have used the grandparent's address to get into a school. None of them were ever found out (to my knowledge).

Almostapril · 14/04/2015 15:22

I agree with spare change and yes it's common. Those that do it feel suitably justified to rob a place from someone else. Personally I'd report it if I knew it was a fact. Only way to stop it. Those of you who have a view on admissions - there is a thread collecting views on chat

engeika · 14/04/2015 15:37

Happens a lot here. (London). "Best" schools have 300 - 400m catchments. Ex LA flats rent for high amounts because they are opposite school. Two people I know did this. (Quoted "problems with my marriage" which were later "resolved").

One other used grandparents' address.

School had real problem with E.Europeans googling "best London Primaries" and father renting studio flat or room in shared house in the catchment area for the Spring/Summer. (Several of the 3 bed flats bang opposite school were known for renting to quite a few single men at the time. Kids arrived first week of September - no English, no knowledge of or ties to area. Family would then find accommodation wherever - but rarely in catchment. It was a well known procedure. Local kids - some of whom had parents who had been to the same school and lived 500m away didn't get places.

Parents with no ties to the area didn't volunteer or help at the school and the huge level of parent support which had made the school as good as it was disappeared. Traffic also increased.

Psipsina · 14/04/2015 16:05

No couldn't do it. I do lie very occasionally, probably far less than most people, but wouldn't want to use up my 'allowance' on something so facile.