to move now with ds in year 6

[Ceci03]

am applying for jobs in manchester - moving from dublin ireland, but my ds will be put into year 6 for a few months and then he will start secondary in septmeber. is it cruel to do this to him. the apartment I am in now is in receivership and will be sold in the next 3 months so I was hoping to get a job and move before having to find somewhere else. but I worry about ds having to start in a primary school, stay for a few months, then the big move to secondary. WWYD. I dont want to have a sign a year lease for another place. That's even if I can find somewhere here. Housing situation is in crisis atm

I think the disruption now would be far easier now than starting mid way through the year in year 7. I know he has his SATs etc but beginning a new school is so much bigger, it would also give his an opportunity to meet some children who he will move school with. Also, it’s not just about your son, it’s the whole family dynamic. The whole family come first but if things can be done at a time to have a lesser impact then great.
I say do it

If you can get your child into a school which feeds into your local secondary then I think that's preferable to starting a secondary not knowing anybody. What type of child is he? Confident, anxious, deals with change well? In year 6 in the summer term a lot of focus is on SATs.

That's the way we did it. So the dc were not going into secondary after the rest had started. Far less disruptive for them.m

sorry excuse my ignorance - SATS - they are exams?

he is very popular in his school here, but he does hate change and is so secure in all his friends and his school. the good thing is he loves football so I think that has really helped him make lots of friends. he's sociable. I would worry he wouldnt be academically where he should be. He's so happy in school though, I have always tried not to stress him out. he would be very bright, but his writing is terrible lol and he doesnt read as much as he probably should be.

SATs are tests and in the grand scheme of things mean nothing at all.

What nodrama said- far better to be sure about his secondary place!

I spoke to someone in the council though, and they said that all secondary places were going to offered by 1 March so maybe I better hurry up. If I miss that first round, I guess I'll go on a waiting list...

Do some scouting first- make sure there are primary places in the area you're moving to. You can't apply until you have an address, but where I am, you wouldn't find a place in Y6, and he'd have to be home educated- not much use if you're moving for work!

You've already missed the deadline- it was end of October. He'll be classed as a late applicant from out of area.

How do I find out if there are places in primary schools. Can I go directly to the school? the council lady said when I have an address I need to apply online to the council and they will allocate him a primary place. I presume I can put preferences down. but to find out if the school could hypothetically take him, maybe I need to contact the school direct would you say

andjustlikethat - what 'order' did you do everything in? I guess first step is to get the job! then house, then school?

I think if you’re going to move, then going now would have the least worst impact on your son.

He’ll get to know his peers much sooner as they’ll still be in one class together all day in Y6, plus kids tend to be a bit friendlier when they’re still at primary IME.

He sounds like a nice, sociable kid (plus he’ll have the bonus of a Dublin accent) so he’ll have a good few months to make some friends before moving up to secondary.

I just rang the local authority education department. They can't say conclusively but they can give you an unofficial idea of places in schools.

YOu ar ealready too late for secondary places for England.

The system works like this:
applications had to be in for Oct 31st 2018, for sept 2019 entry.
Those are processed and places given on 1st March.
Any children who didn't apply by Oct 31st have to wait until after 1st March, and then are llocated any places left.
that means that popular schools will be full, and he would go on a waiting list.

If you find a secondary school where the primary school being a feeder school is one of the admission criteria, and then send him to that primary (if there is a space available) then he would be at the top of the waiting list, and stand as good chance of getting in by September.

In principle, moving now is probably easier than moving during year 7, as he will get a new start with everyone else at the beginning of year 7, but secondary applications in England are a bit if a pain, and you will have to work round that system

SATs are tests but for the school's benefit really. They need to show the children are at their age related learning level when they leave Y6.

I would move ASAP so your DS has time in primary, making some friends who might go to the same secondary school.

I would suggest you look on Manchester's website for secondary school admissions and see how far away the last child admitted lived. It will help you know if you're living close enough to stand a chance of getting your preferred school.

I would get job,
then chose school you like with chance of place (sedonary school)
then get house in that area
then get any place in any primary, even if it means travelling just for a few months. If you CAN get it in the same area as secondary so he goes up with new friends, great, but chosing the secondary school and living in their catchment would be my priority

@steppemum is right, you've missed the application deadline so scrap what I said above, although useful to know if you want an over-scribed school or not. You might need a waiting list space.

There is often churn on secondary places after initial allocation as people who have decided to go private give up their backup state place. Or people who don't like their allocated state place decide to go to their backup private option.

So I think there would be benefit in being in place and applied by 1st March as you will be around for the movement. So if eg you move straight next door to your preferred school (yes I know that is highly unlikely) you would be near the top of the list when the movement starts.

Whereas if you don't move until July, lists will be more stable so chances of space in your preferred schools will be less.