To be annoyed a friend lied about their address on a school application to get into an oversubscribed school

[Liverpoollass2]

I've recently found out a friend has lied on their school application by using another family members address to get their child into an oversubscribed school. The school is one I would have considered but would have been unlikely to get in as its very popular. Friend lives quite far but plans to move within the next few years closer to the school so wants their child at the school now. Its just annoyed me as I know many people who didn't get a place who are more local and feels Iike friend is misusing the system. Friend was able to get a letter with their name on it at the address by signing up for a credit card/store card I believe. I know its none of my business but I just feel annoyed about it now

If you are still paying council tax on your old property which is nearby (commuting distance to the desired school) this would be considered an address of convenience and they’d withdraw the place. That happens near me anyway.

The body which manages admissions (whether the individual school/ trust or centralised local authority system) will have rigorous processes and a range of methods for identifying tactics to try to game the system. The more oversubscribed the school, the tougher the systems are likely to be. They'll have seen the tactics before.

The Local Authority has a duty to place all children so it won't be a case of not having a school place, though of course it may not be convenient.

I wouldn't be paying council tax if I'd left the last house. I just mean that not everyone manages to secure 12-month leases, and it can take time to find a home at all. Many people have lived with family for several months. Would you at least be given a space as if you had applied on time with the address the LA decides to use? You wouldn't be penalised for being in an insecure housing situation or unlucky with landlords selling up, would you?

You can not use a credit card or store card for Id for school application so that's rubbish.

The Local Authority has a duty to place all children so it won't be a case of not having a school place, though of course it may not be convenient.

How do they ensure that a child who has already had a difficult time, with needing to move between short term rentals or stay with extended family, isn't discriminated against in the admissions process?

There isn't a simple answer to this.

The question is whether the LA reasonably believe that your application was fraudulent or deliberately misleading. If they do, they must reassess your application based on what they believe to be your correct address. If you would still have got a place, you can keep it. If, however, you wouldn't have got a place, they can withdraw it. However, your child won't be left without a school. If they withdraw the allocated place they would have to find another place for your child.

I just find this correct address being anything other than where you sleep at night a bit baffling. I'd lived in five houses before I was five, DS had lived in four.

I’ve never showed any school anything when applying for my kids.

What you have to show varies from LA to LA. Many will check council tax records, so don't need the parents to show a council tax bill. Some LAs only ask for proof of address if there is reason to be suspicious, e.g. you have applied using an address that is known to offer short term lets to parents trying to get into a popular school.

I can imagine an undersubscribed school where there's always spaces wouldn't have rigorous demands about documentation, but obviously you'd still need to provide your address.

@Kalevala Local Authorities have a Fair Access Protocol relevant to children who have specific vulnerabilities, so for example if a child has been living in a refuge.

However; the bottom line is that the LA has a responsibility to place a child in education - not to place them in your desired school.

Systems vary from place to place but the more oversubscribed a school is, the more rigorous the checks are likely to be. LAs are wise to every trick in the book - they'll know about people moving in with relatives or renting temporarily etc and can investigate if they suspect someone is gaming the system

Nope.

EHCP is first.

some places have sibling. Then nearest school. Then distance. Distance is the last rule in Hertfordshire for example.

Whilst some schools list EHCP in their oversubscription/admission criteria, most don't. That is because EHCP admissions are handled in a different way, not as part of the normal admissions round. Also, having a category for EHCP implies that the school has some choice - that it can refuse to admit a child with an EHCP naming the school if they are already full. The reality is that they have no choice, If the child has an EHCP naming the school they must be admitted.

Thank you, I stated it in appeal I had already rang the admissions before meeting the panel so they were aware. He's 19th in the waiting list so there's still children probably closer than us and I've not heard a word from my friend all week bit that's not unusual some weeks. So where itvwill get the child number 1 on the list a place and my friends daughter removed I have proved to the panel now that the admissions procedure isn ot thorough enough and I sent a screen shot from Google maps highlighting roads in new build estate and a public pathway which doesn't show up on maps and we actually live closer than they had us down but answered back with its as the crow flies? So I said we'll crow's can fly that way and be quicker 🤦‍♀️ literally just had no come back but I find out on Tuesday I think by email but won't be opening it until Thursday when SATS are over. I had other good arguments and I felt confident and they complimented my parenting and passion and how well I'd done during the meeting that felt like a win in itself

A friend of a friend called up the local oversubscribed school to query why someone she knew got in when they lived further away and her child didn't get in. It turned out the other people had lied on their application (Or were renting locally) and the friends phone call got the ball rolling on them been outed and losing the place. She wasn't very popular after that!!

Fascinating. Are you still friends with her? When she told you the place had been withdrawn, did you sympathise with her? Pretend to be shocked? Inwardly, are you happy that yours are at private school, while hers missed out on a good state school place?

If she pays for an address how is this cheating?

She gets a state school place based on her address. So she can be near the school. So her kid can be near the school. The child is not without school.

Tattle

How do resettled students get spots in schools where children are born and raised and their parents born and raised close to the school, went to that school themselves but their kids can’t get a spot there?

OP - unless it affects you, then stay out of the judgements. Parents do what they feel they need to do. 🤷‍♀️

Because it wasn't their primary address. It was rented for the purpose of getting into the school and they drove home to their primary residence every day.