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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Temporarily moving for Primary admissions

135 replies

Humdingledom · 03/01/2022 05:20

So I know lots of people do this but can’t help but think it’s really fucking cheeky

We are lucky enough to live in the catchment of the most oversubscribed school in the city. The family of DCs friend at school left their house they own and rented very close to the school so their DC got a guaranteed place at the primary school, and now DC has been there a term they are moving back to the house the own in a different area. There are easily 5 primary schools between here and where they live, with some
of them also “Outstanding” but ours does have a certain reputation.

I know other families temporarily moved in with the grandparents to be closer in the catchment and have now moved back outside the area or are planning to.

Like I said I know lots do it but it’s very annoying when friends that actually live on the catchment border missed out for places at the school when they had the option of two schools.

Let’s be clear I’m definitely not being snobby, I think it’s actually really rude of people who have luxury of moving temporarily when there’s people closer who maybe can’t afford to do that missing out!

OP posts:
GettingStuffed · 04/01/2022 20:43

When I went to school aeons ago if you were in the catchment area you went to that school, yes it meant houses near the school were more expensive it also meant that of you moved out of catchment the pupil had to move school to the one the new address was in the catchment area for.

However not all schools keep their Ofsted rating, things can change, the head or some of the better teachers leave , and a school with lower ratings may get an enthusiastic head or try to raise their ratings by engaging pupils to do better work.

It's a total crapshoot

StiffyByng · 04/01/2022 22:58

@LakieLady

When a family member sold their last house, they had buyers in a bidding war because it was close to an excellent state grammar. They ended up getting £200k over the asking price.

That £200k would have paid for an excellent independent school for several years, so it seemed bonkers to me.

But you don’t get the 200k of school fees back, whereas in all likelihood they’ll make a profit on the house when they sell.
ConstanceL · 04/01/2022 23:42

@LakieLady

When a family member sold their last house, they had buyers in a bidding war because it was close to an excellent state grammar. They ended up getting £200k over the asking price.

That £200k would have paid for an excellent independent school for several years, so it seemed bonkers to me.

Did they have lots of children so the £200k wouldn't have gone far in school fees?

Primary school admissions can be an emotive subject. We stayed in our too small flat a couple of years longer than we wanted to get DC1 into the best state primary in the area, we then moved about a mile away a month after term started. Another mum made a few 'lighthearted' digs about how we had played the system as we knew we would be moving when we got the school place, but I can't see how we did play the system as we lived at our previous address for over 10 years and were still living there when the first term started. I did actually check with school admissions what their policy was with people moving once term started and they had no problem with it.

As policies change from LA to LA though perhaps the people the OP is referring to haven't broken any admission rules, but I know our local one says in their policy that rented property addresses when the parents own a house elsewhere won't be accepted.

RedHelenB · 05/01/2022 05:54

No primary school is worth that. I feel sorry for the child, because their social life outside of school will suffer as they'll miss out not being local.

newname12345 · 05/01/2022 06:13

@ConstanceL But you did play the system, though in a slightly different/longer game to others.

Florin · 05/01/2022 06:27

When our ds went to primary we decided on private due to some developmental delays so wanted smaller classes and extra help for him and a friend was so appalled that we paid for private as she felt private schools were wrong that she cut the relationship. However it was absolutely fine for her same age child to get into the best local state primary which they got into as they rented their house out for a year and they then rented a house a stone throw from the school for a year. After the year was up she moved back to their old house. I do understand the feelings about private school and quite frankly it isn’t fair but it was the best decision for our ds and we gave up a lot for it but at least we were honest about it. Ex friend was a teacher too.

Toocooltoboogie · 05/01/2022 06:39

Op has said themselves that they don't know the exact details of the moves. It's just school gossip and so what? The people that say report because it's unfair to those that live closer are just feeding into the unfair system. The school will do nothing as these people were in their rights to apply according to the rules. The fact they may move further down the line will not result in the kids being chucked out. Circumstances change and people move house when their kids are in primary- it's not against the law to and noone is ever asked to leave a school.

OnceuponaRainbow18 · 05/01/2022 07:12

A family did this to get into the school my kid goes to; and it is talked about a fair amount by other mums, and not in a positive way. So the min you invite someone for a play date they’ll know.

massiveblob · 05/01/2022 07:25

@ConstanceL if you didn't move local to school then it's only your child who will miss out on the huge benefits of going to local school. This really kicks in at juniors and then when they all move to high

littlemisslozza · 05/01/2022 07:29

It would be considered fraud in my rural Midlands county and it's made very clear in the admissions information that it is. Having said that, my SIL is in London and they regularly had families renting in their street for one year to get into the primary school, then moving away and driving in every morning. More difficult to manage when there's a larger proportion of people renting perhaps? What I thought was particularly wrong was that the siblings of these children who no longer lived near the school, had higher priority over the local children without a sibling there already. That wouldn't happen here, but my SIL was certain that was the case. Why would they move away if they weren't pretty much guaranteed a place for the younger ones? She must be right.

massiveblob · 05/01/2022 07:29

@Humdingledom if you think this and have details you should report it. So should others. Otherwise you are just part of the problem. It stopped at our school as previously parents reported those cheating the system. A few had places removed between nursery and reception start for using grandparents address or moving before the Jan deadline etc
Everyone not doing anything is complicit.
Also agree with others... it's about wealth in many cases. Money to move into catchment etc.
It's also then wealth feeding PTA funds etc, socially selective intakes etc

drpet49 · 05/01/2022 07:31

* YABU for being pissed off about it if you aren't reporting it. Choosing not to report it is collaborating in the deception and fraud so you're being hypocritical to moan about it. If it's wrong then it needs reporting. If you are choosing not to report then you are accepting that it's ok.*

^This

massiveblob · 05/01/2022 07:33

@littlemisslozza in our LA it's automatic sibling priority regardless of where you live by then. One child in = all get in.
Our neighbouring LA 5 mins away isn't. They changed it. Siblings only get priority if still in the specific catchment. That stopped all this.
Move at your peril. Move miles away and siblings will not get a place

user1487194234 · 05/01/2022 07:37

We paid about 100k extra for our house to get into the catchment area of the school we wanted for the DC.So can't /won't judge anyone for wanting the best school they can get

ReluctantEarlyRiser · 05/01/2022 07:50

I haven't read the whole thread but I find this pretty abhorrent. Schools need a mix of children from different backgrounds and academic abilities else the 'less desirable' schools will never be able to improve.

IMO a primary school is a primary school. If you're the type of parent who invests time in your children, encourages them and supports their school then they will do just fine wherever they are.

Going to a catchment school also means you can walk there and your kid has friends in the immediate area that they can play with!

newname12345 · 05/01/2022 07:52

@massiveblob In the past friends not being that local was a problem as it was too easy to lose contact. Not sure if it is so much now. A couple of DS's best mates from primary went to totally different high school's back in September, not only has he not lost contact with them, his large friendship group is now extended across 3 high schools (ie he's friends with children he's not ever gone to school with).

massiveblob · 05/01/2022 07:59

@newname12345 there's an element of that if they all live relatively near then just go to different highs. But likely near enough to still do sports together or hang out. It does fizzle off normally. At my DC high they all hangout straight after school together so those living further away at different schools aren't there.
If DC go to a primary where all go to high A but they don't as they live miles away that's also different.
I've seen this. The child ends up having to go to high school knowing no one. Not the end of the world but harder for many

newname12345 · 05/01/2022 08:46

@massiveblob With large schools though you end up with kids who even go to the same school together living miles away from each other anyway. DS's high school's catchment area (within a medium size town) is maybe up to 2.5 miles, so could mean kids live up to 5 miles from each other - not so easy to hang round after school unless they stay at the school.

My point being is that a lot of their weekday hanging out after school is now virtual. Partially because of their shared interests in online gaming, partially that covid has enforced/encoraged this, and partially because none of them live that close to each other regardless of which school they go to.

ConstanceL · 05/01/2022 08:46

[quote newname12345]@ConstanceL But you did play the system, though in a slightly different/longer game to others.[/quote]
How though? We lived in our flat for over 10 years and hadn't even exchanged on the new property when the school term started so we couldn't have applied from what would be our new address anyway. Hardly playing the system - are you saying people should never move house once their child starts school? This is a completely different scenario to people who move to get a school place, we just stayed where we were 🤷‍♀️

ConstanceL · 05/01/2022 08:50

[quote massiveblob]@ConstanceL if you didn't move local to school then it's only your child who will miss out on the huge benefits of going to local school. This really kicks in at juniors and then when they all move to high[/quote]
We are now 25 mins walk away from the school rather than 5! We have hardly moved out of the local area and are still in catchment for the secondary school. We are in London so catchments for primary schools are miniscule. So I don't think my DC are in danger of missing out on anything..

Figgygal · 05/01/2022 08:50

What is so great about a PRIMARY school that people would do this? Its madness

SituationCritical · 05/01/2022 08:51

We had someone do this in our village...she lives here but rented a house in a nearby village to ensure her child got a place and rented out her house in the village. Her child got the place and they attempted to move back. Their tenant refused to leave, they ended up in court and the house was absolutely trashed requiring thousands and thousands of pounds worth of repairs. The local primary is absolutely lovely so no idea why she was so adamant on choosing this other school but not sure I'd say it was worth it!!!

newname12345 · 05/01/2022 09:01

@ConstanceL I did not say you did anything wrong. But by your own admission you "stayed in our too small flat a couple of years longer than we wanted to get DC1 into the best state primary in the area". Then as soon as you did you moved.

I agree its a different scenario to people who move, but you were still playing the system.

ConstanceL · 05/01/2022 09:12

[quote newname12345]@ConstanceL I did not say you did anything wrong. But by your own admission you "stayed in our too small flat a couple of years longer than we wanted to get DC1 into the best state primary in the area". Then as soon as you did you moved.

I agree its a different scenario to people who move, but you were still playing the system.[/quote]
But 'playing the system' implies some kind of cheating or at least being underhand. Which I don't think we particularly were. Taking advantage of ones current position within the system through inertia isn't the same as playing it I don't think!

Anyway, as I mentioned in my first post, primary school admissions can be an emotive subject, and people have differing opinions on what is right and wrong. As far as I'm concerned if people have followed the LA's admissions rules at the time of application and of term starting, then there is no problem morally or legally. But it is not clear if this is the case in the scenario the OP describes.

SueSaid · 05/01/2022 09:18

Last year we had posters calling others 'nazis' for reporting people in an actual pandemic where public health was at risk.

Here we have a load of busybodies telling the op to report parents for getting their kids into a school of their choice. So what?! Yes perhaps another dc may lose a place but that's a bit of stretch isn't it.

You have no idea what is going on behind closed doors. Relationships breaking down, people living in rented accommodation or temporarily with relatives until they can sort it out.

Keep your beak out.