Suspected School Place Fraud

[SchoolFraudDilemma]

This is more a WWYD.

If you suspected someone had fraudulently applied for a secondary school place, would you report it?

There is a very outside chance of an EHCP but it is unlikely.

I suspect that they've used a different address to their actual address when applying.

They live approx 6 miles from the school. According to the local authority data, the furthest place offered was 1.2m from the school.

Would you report it or just mind your own business?

Report.!

I actually don’t think this it matters that you don’t know for sure. If you report it and their child was admitted on a criteria other than distance, the parents probably won’t even find out that any report has been made. If the child was admitted because of an EHCP or similar then there won’t be any investigation beyond a basic clerical check.

The only way that they will even be subjected to any form of investigation is if they have been admitted based on distance and used a false address. I’m in London and across the city there are lots of schools in quite deprived, inner city areas that have excellent results and progress scores. It makes me angry to see people who would never dream of actually living in those areas committing fraud to get their children into such schools. The local kids who miss out on places as a result are usually less privileged and more educationally vulnerable. It isn’t a victimless act.

Catchment is hardly a very fair system.

our towns schools are really over subscribed and every year a lot of children miss out and have to get a bus to the next town.but the council keep on approving developments of new family homes

We had to submit several proof of address when DD applied for her place including a council tax bill.

Does it actually effect you in any way? If the answers no leave them be! You don’t know their reasoning.

Don't report it. As previously said there may be many reasons for it, and not everyone, especially the child concerned, would want details of their personal life being put up for scrutiny. What are you hoping to gain? Once you've opened up a can of worms, and not the one you were anticipating, it might be hard to backpedal and undo the damage caused. Ultimately you only suspect the parents of wrong doing, and whether they have or not, it makes no difference, the child will suffer.

Report it anonymously and let the school make the decision.
Because of the sheer selfishness of some parents a more needy local child may be deprived of a space. A local child who may not be able to afford to travel and whose parents don't have the nous to manipulate the system.

Report it, they can investigate. It’s either legit or some CF will get their comeuppance

It isn't unusual for parents to say x has cheated their way into a school.
For an investigation you need some evidence rather than a feeling.
Equally some children live split addresses and some have information other parents have no knowledge of.
Just because they live further away does not mean they don't qualify on another higher criterion.

There is a difference between knowing someone has likely cheated and not having enough information to know what is what.

This is just a thought without any basis, so no I wouldn't report.
They will be asked for information on their induction.

As this is just a passing thought without any evidence or real knowledge then no I would not report.

If you knew they had likely made a false application then yes.

But in this case you have nothing to go on.

There are often children who live further away who qualify on a higher category being accepted.

Report definitely.
If they were honest they have nothing to worry about.

If their child was not admitted on distance but on a higher criterion then reporting it will do no harm at all. It would go no further than someone looking at the child’s records, seeing that their address was not the reason they qualified for a place, and then taking no further action.

Working in admissions as I do...it would depend on what evidence you could offer, and whether the school was an academy/free school. Most people can't provide the former, and it is very hard for us to prove fraud, so most places don't bother, sadly.

Time was once upon a time we'd check against the Council tax register and other data we held.

I wonder how the 'mind your own business' crowd would feel if it transpired they'd personally missed out on something important due to others who knew there might well be 'a case to answer', but 'minded their own business'?

I think that if you believe there to have been fraudulence, or highly likely to have been, you have a duty to report it.

In that way, you have a leg to stand on, morally, if the shoe is on the other foot.

@manymanymany

All those advocating reporting - do you disagree with people having their child baptised to get into the school of a particular denomination? If not then you're complete hypocrites! Honestly, OP mind your own business and wind your neck in.

Yes, I do; but then I strongly disagree with 'faith' based criteria for school admission, too.

@Covidwedding123

Why are you such a nosey busy body?

No, it’s none for your buisness

You haven't read the thread, have you?

This is not a 'victimless crime'. A child may have lost their legitimate school place due to fraud.

You wouldn't be so blasé if it were your child.

Forgive me if I'm wrong but I get the feeling someone missed out on a place because they didn't make their own application watertight and are now trying to blame the absence of a place on someone else.

@rach2713

I would mind my own business you don't know details of the person getting the place plus it ain't going to make much of a difference to your life why they has been given it. I think lockdown has given people far to much time on the hands to report stupid little things...

'Stupid little thing'?

Do you have the faintest idea of the impact a really good school versus a really bad school could have on someone's entire life?

Really. It can.

Report. It’s not fair on everyone else who plays by the rules, particularly those with special needs etc who shouldn’t miss out on their local place.

@lunapeace

Does it personally affect you? Leave it!

Societally, yes. It does. Or should, if you have a moral compass.

@user1487194234

We paid a huge premium to buy a house very close to the school we wanted. Totally legal,but I wouldn't feel I could report anyone who does whatever they do to get their DC in to the school they choose

You would if they'd bought a house 100m closer and their child got in but yours didn't! 😂

@MadamMaltesers

How do people sleep at night having reported poor family, when they do not know anything about their personal circumstances. Too much time on your hands.

Are they'd poor family' or behaving fraudulently?

If they've got their place legitimately, all their ducks will be in a row, they have nothing to fear, and hey! Might even be glad Admissions are so thorough!

If they're gaming the system, they need to take a good hard look at themselves.

None of this is hard to grasp.

If you bring to the attention of Admissions a questionable admission, they don't send a hit squad around to the family concerned. They might, hopefully, check they're made the correct decision. The family may never know a query has been raised.

But as a society, it's everyone's responsibility to raise these concerns. It helps 'keep people honest'.

Where we live, there's one local school based on your address and if you move house after getting in you have to change schools.

It's awful for both children in this situation but I find it odd that people are so concerned about one child potentially losing out when there are thousands of children in this country losing out on a good education because they live in an area where their local school is shit.

And there are thousands of children who probably need an ECHP but don't have one because their parents aren't with it enough and the SENCO has too much work and they don't make a fuss so they just struggle on alone. We all know it's true. The waiting lists for professional help of any kind are huge.

If you care about 'society' then there really needs to be a change to state education full stop - to use a Tory term a proper 'levelling up'. This ridiculous postcode lottery and the fake promise that children who really need extra help get into the better state schools anyway (while the child who just misses the criteria, maybe because their parents aren't quite as with it or pushy enough to demand SENCO input, still loses out) is just a smoke screen to try and get people arguing about one fraudulent school place rather than talking about the fact that far too many state schools just are rubbish.

Look at the number of private school UK applicants that get into Oxbridge vs state school. That cohort of kids is not inherently smarter than state school students, they just have a better education.