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?

[Xmasbaby11]

It would upset me that a child is missing out so i would consider reporting.

I know someone who is renting a flat near a secondary school to get her twins into it. They will never live there and will stop renting it as soon as they can. There's no real reason other than they prefer the other school. I have lost all respect for the person now. It's taking 2 school places away, 2 children who can't go to their local school. No it doesn't affect me, but that doesn't make it ok. It is a crime and it doesn't have to affect me to be wrong.

[Hadjab]

@ClarkeGriffin

Report it. They shouldn't be taking a place at a school they aren't allowed to have, that's why it's called fraud. It's not right or fair. If they wanted that school they should have bought a house closer to it.

WTF??

No child is “allowed to have’’ a place at a specific school, they are entitled to have a place at a school of the council’s choosing, and as for that bollocks about buying houses, are you for real?

[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...

[SE13Mummy]

I'd pass my concern on to the LA admissions team to highlight a possible mistake. It has been known for unexpected allocations to occur because the home to school distance has been measured incorrectly (definitely something to be aware of for split/multi site schools) or because an old version of the admissions criteria was in use. On that basis, even if my child wasn't disadvantaged by the potential error (of judgement or in accuracy), I would pass on my concern because it's not fair that children whose parents are less able to advocate for them, or who are confused by the system, might be disadvantaged by that error.

[Sweettea1]

Depends on if it affected my child getting rightful place. If mine got refused half a mile away but bill from 7 miles away got it hell yes I'd report.

[Sapho47]

Its funny how on this site if someone mentions benefit fraud its overwhelmingly "mind your own business" a school play "report report report!!!"


I wonder if the demographic of posters affects whats "acceptable" fraud

[Angel2702]

@Greeneyesbiglashes

If the child has an EHCP they would have found out by the legal deadline for children with EHCPs which was 15th February. So depends if this was from today or previously.

That doesn’t mean the parents would have announced it then. No reason at all they wouldn’t have just said on offer day the same as everyone else. Not everyone broadcasts their child’s private medical information.

[TeenMinusTests]

If the child has an EHCP or is adopted, then the admissions authority will know that and no further action will be taken.
So it does no harm to the family if they are legit and are reported.

[Angel2702]

Those mentioning EHCP, it is not necessary to have one to apply under special circumstances. Most schools have an exceptional medical or social need category you can apply under which you don’t need to have an EHCP for. Particularly for children who don’t have a diagnosis yet, or are still in process of being assessed or applying for EHCP. There is no reason at all you would be privy to this information.

[CrumbsThatsQuick]

I would let admissions know so they can check. Actually I would consider it a favour to the child involved. Best he knows early if he's not entitled to a place there, than suffer the embarrassment / trauma of being turned away at the gste on the first day of school.

[Nith]

@hiredandsqueak

If child has an EHCP they would have known they had a place mid February. If they found out when you did they don't have an EHCP.

If only local authorities could actually be relied on to meet the mid February deadline for EHCPs. Many, many don't.

[Bluntness100]

God what is it with people wanting to report other people, from breaking Covid rules, to wrongful school places. There always someone standing behind their curtains itching to report. Usually anonymously. And without the full facts.

No I wouldn’t. And not just because you’ve no idea if this is a wrongful place or not. Just simply I don’t want to be that person.

[Fuckitsstillraining]

I'm not familiar with this system of allocating school places but can someone explain why being adopted would make a difference? Surely a big part of adoption is that the child is not treated any differently to any other child. My husband and bil are adopted so I'm interested in the reasoning behind these rules.

[Hoppinggreen]

An adopted child is considered “looked after”, which is a category that usually pushes you to the top of the allocations list

As for comparing school place fraud to benefit fraud, as someone did earlier - I understand that benefits can be stopped while an investigation is ongoing, which can be devastating for a family. Whereas if school place fraud is investigated it won’t really matter until there is an outcome.

[Symbion]

@Fuckitsstillraining there is an ordered list of criteria and "looked after or previously looked after children" are more or less right at the top. It means children who have been in care or adopted. It's an acknowledgement that many of these children have extra barriers, including but not limited to having to move areas. It's about levelling the playing field just a little, making sure that they can go to a school that best suits their needs.

Arguably it wouldn't be needed if schools were all great, or if so many of the half decent ones weren't full to bursting.

[minniemoocher]

There's other reasons too which might not be public knowledge eg parents have split up and dad lives in catchment, they are in the social services system, named school for a variety of reasons, but I would be tempted to report because there's far too much fraud by wealthy parents. I know people who rented flats near my DD's school it didn't live there, others in the borough didn't get in (we did, out of area but it was a named school for us, you would never have known why from outside our family)

[KateBlush]

The often-used ruse round here is timing house renovations for secondary transfer so you handily have a rental catchment address just in time for your application. Once you've bagged the place you then move back to family home and all your siblings follow. This happens every single year despite council explicitly stating renting a new address whilst holding on to another will be deemed fraudulent. I think our local 'outstanding' schools have no real interest in stopping it. They're happy to fill their classrooms with these sorts of 'upwardly mobile' families.

[Disfordarkchocolate]

I would report it. They have taken someone else's school place.

[meditrina]

Report

If there are non-obvious circumstances which mean the place is correctly awarded, then that will be easily verified.

If cheating another child of a school place they should have had then the situation can be corrected.

That may make for some nasty moments for a famikymwhich cheated, but they chose to run that risk

[Rachie1973]

@SchoolFraudDilemma

My child did get a place.

The other child is definitely not adopted

A child doesn’t have to be adopted to be offered a priority place. My granddaughter that lives with me is a previously looked after child. That lasts her entire school life.

[NeverDropYourMoonCup]

@Fuckitsstillraining

I'm not familiar with this system of allocating school places but can someone explain why being adopted would make a difference? Surely a big part of adoption is that the child is not treated any differently to any other child. My husband and bil are adopted so I'm interested in the reasoning behind these rules.

Because the majority of adopted children have ended up in that situation as a result of considerably worse circumstances in early childhood, so are felt to be significantly more disadvantaged even when they join their adoptive family.

Monitoring the progress of adopted children over years has shown that this disadvantage still affects them later on in school - being adopted as a whole is generally far better for them, but that doesn't mean that everything is fixed forever; they have particular challenges that mean even with the best home possible, they are still at risk of a disproportionate disadvantage.

[LolaSmiles]

I'd report your concerns and let the relevant people check.

It's not the done thing on here, but the way I see it is each time someone fraudulently gains a space what they are actually doing is depriving another child of the place they are entitled to.

Plus, I highly doubt everyone who says mind your own business would be happy with their child having to travel across town, or attend a failing school, or have to be educated out of local authority area because liars took the places at their local school.

[BlackeyedSusan]

those saying the child would pay? well someone else's child is paying now by not getting a place at their preferred school. I would go with the report option. people should not profit from being dishonest. also, the school can find out and withdraw the place at a later date.. thus the two children miss out on settling in activities at their new school.

[AtSwimTwoBerts]

Each school has required us to bring in documented proof of address

Which couldn't be simpler to fake. I could do you ten in the next hour if I wanted!

[Ponoka7]

@dottiedaisee, do you also think that the working poor just don't work hard enough? Or those that can't get on the housing ladder just don't make enough sacrifices?

People don't know that my DD has a Non Mol against her children's father, who has lost PR, which would mean a place in a school out of the catchment area. Or that a relatives child was a looked after child (thanks to severe PND, posh family), or the background of a few children who I know. I wouldn't report unless I'd known the family well from birth.