If I move house just after school applications close...

[Waxxy]

Will my son still be eligible for a place in the school we've chosen? I've submitted my school choices for this year. Our favourite is a consistently under subscribed school so very likely to get a place. Landlord has increased my rent to an unaffordable price, which would mean I would need to move out end of January. Applications technically close January 15th. If I can't find a new home near the school, which we love and am happy to travel to (won't be moving too far away), will he still be offered that place?

If its under subscribed then yes its likely.

The only thing I worry about is that they said due to getting Ofsted outstanding quite recently they can't guarantee they'll be undersubscribed. Would just like to know if that scenario was to occur, if we would just be left with whatever spaces were left in the city

I believe you have to let them know if you move address before your child starts school. When my DA started they asked people for a copy of a bill to show proof of current address. I did move in the summer before my DS2 started, however he was still eligible for a place under sibling rules (we moved less than a mile).

It's just a shit situation as I don't even know where I'll be moving to as I haven't found anywhere yet, so don't even know where I'll be living. So can't look at other schools (not even sure they'd let me rescind my already submitted choices anyway!). I could stay where I am and just refuse to pay the increased rent but not sure that's a good idea as I then won't be able to get a good reference from my landlord. So stressed right now!

They'll always tell you there might be issues getting in, they want to make sure you apply there!

@prh47bridge

You can contact the council when you've moved and they will assign you a school then, plus wait-list places if you desperately want another onen. The waiting list places are adjusted when anyone new joins the list, so if you're nearest you would go to the top of the list, and someone else is always moving

Thanks @TVWife for bringing this thread to my attention.

The short answer is it depends. Some LAs will insist on using your new address when allocating places. Some will allow you to use your new address for correspondence while using your current address allocating places. If you move, you will have to talk to your LA. If they say they will use your current address for allocations, make sure you get it in writing - if necessary, send them an email setting out what they said and keep the email. That way you will have evidence if they don't do what they say.

If you can hold on at your current address for a few months, that will help. Once a place has been offered, they cannot withdraw it just because you move. You may still have problems. Some councils try to withdraw places from people who move, forcing them to appeal to get the place back.

As others have said, none of this will be a problem if the school is undersubscribed. If it is oversubscribed and you don't get a place at any of the schools you have chosen, you will be offered a place at the nearest school with places available.

Once a place has been offered, they cannot withdraw it just because you move.
Not true in all boroughs, our council only hold the place until the first half term or term has completed (cqn't recall how long exactly), otherwise you have to apply for other schools at the new address.

I just feel a bit stuck and don't know what to do. Desperately looking for another house or flat nearby but there's hardly anything

Here you would still be eligible for the place

If it is undersubscribed there would be no issue. If oversubscribed you need to look at the admissions criteria to assess what priority your dc would be given. If they do not get offered a place you can still go on waiting list but should be considered for a place at any of your other preferred schools before being allocated the nearest available.

You appear to be talking about the situation where the child fails to take up the place. In your scenario, the place is being taken away because the child is not attending the school, not because they have moved. It is absolutely the case that a place cannot be withdrawn just because you move. That applies throughout England. No LA can override that as they are bound by the Admissions Code.

Even if move after I've made my application, but before they've allocated the places?

Many LA have a short window to update the address after application closing date and it still be considered as on time, otherwise they use the one at the time of the application. Is the travel distance and time to your first choice feasible if you move,

I have no idea until I know where I'm moving too. Rentals are few and far between where I live and about 20 people applying for each house. It's a nightmare. I'm looking every day now.

You count as not starting yet. Our council requires the child to have attended the school, which for reception isn't until 2-3 weeks into the start of term; if you don't advise that the address changed then they can treat it as fraudulent and take away the place even later (but usually any withdrawal will only be within first term). May be best to search both local authorities for their rules. (Ignore what the previous poster says, you can have the place withdrawn if you don't advise of a new address.)

That makes sense. All really stressful as because I don't know where I'll be moving to yet and definitely won't be moving until after applications deadline. So basically am likely to just be left with whatever school is left, because landlord is a knob and increased my rent by a whacking 12%, thus forcing me out. Really tempting to stay here and risk being evicted but then not being able to get a reference for wherever I move to next. All very, Very stressful.

Why would you not get any of your other preferences, how many can you list? Change one to a definitely undersubscribed school?

Check with your LA. Mine had an extended date until March if you were moving house to provide them with evidence of your new address (had to apply from existing address by the January deadline then inform them of the change of address before March).

Provided you have complied with the LA's rules, they can't take the place away once it has been offered. However, if their rules require you to notify them of a change of address and you fail to do so, they can take the place away. And if you move after the application but before they've allocated places, they may use your new address to determine which place you will be offered. Which address they use in that situation varies from council to council and may depend on how long after the closing date you move.

ignore what the previous poster says, you can have the place withdrawn if you don't advise of a new address.

The admissions code is very clear on this. A place cannot legally be withdrawn simply because you move. Only if the Admissions authority decide your change of address means your application was fraudulent or intentionally misleading could the place be withdrawn. Any admission authority trying to do otherwise would lose an appeal. That doesn't mean they don't try, but it's against the code.

The relevant paragraphs -

2.13 An admission authority must not withdraw an offer unless it has been offered in error, a parent has not responded within a reasonable period of time, or it is established that the offer was obtained through a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application. Where the parent has not responded to the offer, the admission authority must give the parent a further opportunity to respond and explain that the offer may be withdrawn if they do not. Where an offer is withdrawn on the basis of misleading information, the application must be considered afresh, and a right of appeal offered if an offer is refused.
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2.14 A school must not withdraw a place once a child has started at the school, except where that place was fraudulently obtained. In deciding whether to withdraw the place, the length of time that the child has been at the school must be taken into account. For example, it might be considered appropriate to withdraw the place if the child has been at the school for less than one term.

Surely this is all a bit irrelevant though as I'll be moving before an offer has been made?

I'm sure it feels really stressful right now, but you are in a low birth year so there are lots of all places and you will get something sorted out. It's possibly going to depend on how near to your preferred school you are after you move. If you move very near a school and have the local authority take it into account later then you could go to the top of the wait list, and there are lots of moves. Someone in our class was 4th on the wait list due to distance, but got in; of people we knew from nursery one kid went private and two moved house (one was military, so no choice), so that was 3 spaces to start with. One kid on the wait list was also given permission in August to defer a year (July baby). There is so much movement that you might also decide to stay wait listed after starting school, not ideal but again one person moved house in early October and that left a space. You could also apply to move schools later or the next year if it really doesn't work out.

@PatriciaHolm - OP hasn't moved yet and will be moving during allocations. Failure to advise of address change can lead to a local authority counting it as fraudulent or stating the place was offered in error, because a different school would have been offered.