Applying for schools? WWYD?

[FruitCider]

Background...
My child is very shortly going to turn 4. I live in social housing (HA) which environmental health decided has 2 category 1 hazards. We have been on the housing list since Feb 2015. We have been no higher than position 4 since May eg not creeping up the list any more. We live in place marked A on drawing. Partner works in place B and takes child to nursery currently due to my hours. I work in place C. We are bidding on properties between B and C.

I have no idea whether to fill in the application and apply for a school around place A (so the schools that we are currently in catchment for), or between place B and C. We are likely to move (either through social housing or mortgaging ourselves up to our eyeballs with PIL giving DP his inheritance early) before our child starts school, but it could all go wrong. If my daughter is placed in school around current home and we then move, DP will face a 12 mile round trip in rush hour to get child to breakfast club. If we don't move we will not be in catchment for schools around B and C so child will be unlikely to get a place.

What would you do in my circumstances?!?!? I'm struggling!

Application deadline is mid Jan, so first I would hope to have moved by then and the problem will resolve itself.

Check with your LA re changing address and making changes to options. When will they accept them and still consider them to be 'on time' and thus considered with everyone else.

Otherwise apply for schools you can get a place for from your current address as anything else is a wasted option.

If you do move house after the moving limit date, then after allocations get your name down on waiting lists for as many more local schools as you can. If you are lucky there will be 'churn' between April and September and you'll get a place at a school near your new house.

That sounds like a sensible suggestion Teen, I'll give the LA a ring today!

Unless you live in an area with lots of undersubscribed decent schools (not sure I'd such a place exists) then as Teen said you just must make sure you have moved by January. Obviously that's not very controllable with social housing and mortgaging yourselves to the eyeballs isn't necessarily wise - have you access to any shared ownership schemes in your area. All the ones I have investigated will consider you eligible if you are already in social housing or are on the waiting list so you would probably qualify. With your DH's inheritance you might be able to arrange a 50% own-with-mortgage and 50% rent deal which would give you the best of both worlds.

My credit rating, whilst ok, is not good enough for shared ownership and is likely to be not good enough for another couple of years. It's a shame really, on paper we have a good income (£43k) but in reality we just cannot afford private rental costs (£1k a month for 2 bed) and can only just squeeze a £180k mortgage which is what we would need. I'm really hoping social housing comes through for us. Then we can continue to save whilst my salary increases (newly qualified nurse) and think about going shared ownership for our forever home in 2 years time.

The schemes in my area would exclude you from applying for shared ownership if you have successfully got a mortgage for any property (even if it is a property that is far too small for you or in the wrong area) but I don't know whether that is universal. I am surprised that it is possible to have a credit rating that is not good enough for shared ownership but yet is good enough for a standard mortgage - but I'm not an expert!

Good luck!

Afaik, you don't have any choice but to apply from where you are currently living - assuming you are still there at the applications deadline - and then, if you move between the deadline and your daughter starting school, making a late application from your new address. Tbh, if your father-in-law does give you your deposit, buying a house/flat is a long-winded process so, unless you were to have an offer accepted in the next few weeks, I wouldn't bank on having moved to your new home by January especially as everything grinds to a halt for at least a fortnight over Christmas. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news .

Oh I didn't even think of that! Oh well. Nothing I can do about it really!

Oh I didn't even think of that! Oh well. Nothing I can do about it really!