Children moving schools- anxiety

[Zaina89]

So we have bought a house in Solihull area of West Midlands, we currently live in Birmingham. The distance between my kids school and our new house is a 30 minute drive one way without any school rush hour traffic so a more realistic journey time would be 45-50 minutes and the particular roads we need to take are packed in the morning and afternoon. We’ve always wanted to live in Solihull and bought a house 2 months ago a lot cheaper at auction for a good price which we are now fixing up and will be forever home. We have 3 children, 2 in school, 1 in nursery and both work full time. Our eldest is in year 4 currently, second is in year 3 currently. Our youngest is 19 months. I applied last month to Solihull council to move schools for the children knowing the journey would be hard but also being realistic not expecting any good schools to have available places specially as I have 2 who need a place. To my surprise yesterday I received an email from the council informing me my son, who is currently in year 3 has been offered a place at a really good school in Solihull, it’s actually the school I wanted! And it’s the school I hopefully want our 19 month old to start attending the nursery at after she turns 3. And hopefully go on to reception there. They don’t currently have space for my daughter who is in year 4, they said she’s number 3 in the waiting list with 2 children in front of her. Both the council and the school have said when my son starts at this new school she will gain sibling priority and hopefully move up the list. They said I can’t appeal for a place for her as that year group is currently full. The new school want my son to start on the 9th of June as if he started any later than this it may disrupt him with all the upcoming end of year events like sports day etc and obviously if we don’t accept this place and start him from the 9th of June we will loose his offer and there may be a waiting list with children above him from the new school year so it’s not worth the risk. It’s a brilliant school with good ofsted in a very good area. My son is quite shy, we’ve obviously spoke about moving schools with both kids before buying the house and I spoke to my son about being offered a place yesterday and he is excited and understanding of the situation that they don’t yet have a place for his sister, my oldest is also an extremely mature 9 year old who has told me “ mummy, accept his place I’m ok here for now and I will go to after school club so you can manage pick ups” she’s so mature and sweet and understanding. Would you take the offer? He’s so shy and I’m having all the usual worries of moving him especially at this time of the year and in general panicking about if he’ll make friends and all. I’ve also got to inform the current school he will only be back for a week after half term. Can anyone please give me some positive advice that this will all be ok? That by accepting his place I will give my daughter a better chance of also getting a space if her sibling is in the school? My husband is obviously going to help but I just don’t know if there is anything the council can do to squeeze my daughter in as I’m going to have to make 3 school trips, 1 to nursery, one to the Solihull school and then a 45 minute plus journey to Birmingham for my daughter. The council and school both told me yesterday that once me and the school have arranged his start date I need to call back the council so she can be changed to sibling priority on the waiting list but I called this morning after deciding on June 9th and they said I need to actually wait until he physically starts and then phone them back even though they said different yesterday and told me the school once he starts it will then be up to them about what happens with my daughter but the school says it’s up to the council. I’m just having a lot of anxiety, will I be stupid to turn down this offer of a brilliant school? Also taking into consideration that I want our youngest child to go to this school and she too will gain sibling priority when I apply for her nursery and reception place when the time comes? Any positive advice and stories needed

I’ve had to move all 3 of my children in primary. They are always fine. And I know it seems like a huge deal now, but honestly, it’s not. Time passes so fast, in the blink of an eye, it will be this time next year and you will have forgotten about the worry.

Just move him.

And yes, admissions are up to the council, not the school, but she should have sibling priority once he starts. You’ll have to apply for an in year transfer for her via the LA.

The chances of two places coming simultaneously in a full school is low.

Start your son. Then appeal for a place for your DD if she doesn't get a place in September. Appeals are for when the class is full, so its wrong they are saying you can't appeal.

I don’t mean this the wrong way OP, but very few people are going to read that massive block of text. Paragraphs are the way to go so people can parse the information more easily and give you helpful advice.

I moved when my children were in year 3 and year 5. You need to take this opportunity quickly...thr place for your other child will follow quickly once there is a sibling link.

It was completely nerve wracking moving my children of course..and my then 7 Yr old was autistic so a huge leap. And they were really happy in their old school so there were many tears

But...kids make friends so quickly and you will too. You will be part of a new community and it will help you settle in the new home

Sorry it’s just that I have a lot of information and tried to keep it as short as possible I just didn’t want to miss any details out

Definitely take the place that your son has been offered.

All being well that will move your dd up the waiting list too.

It’s highly unlikely that you’ll be in a position where they’re both offered a place at once in a school of your choosing.

Not at all intended as a criticism, but I’ve taken the liberty of rewriting your post, cutting it down to include the relevant info without repetition and putting it into paragraphs. If you repost using this format, there’s a good chance you’ll get more responses:

We have bought a house in Solihull, relocating from Birmingham. This is a move we’ve wanted to make for a long time. We have three kids - a daughter in Year 4, a son in Year 3, and one still nursery age.

The commute to the older kids’ school from our new home is sadly not sustainable - it’s 30 minutes each way when roads are clear, but at school rush hour more like 45-50 minutes.

I applied last month to Solihull council for the kids to move to local schools, fully understanding that the good schools were unlikely to have open spaces. To my surprise, my son in Year 3 has now been offered a place at our top choice school (with a nursery attached that I hope our 19 month old will attend once he turns 3, before going on to reception there). They don’t have a place for my daughter in Year 4, however - she’s third on the waiting list (though could move up the list based on sibling priority once my son starts).

The school wants my son to start on 9th June, so I have to decide quickly or we lose his offer.

Would you take the offer? My son is very shy and I’m having all the usual worries about moving him especially so late in the school year - I’m panicking about whether he’ll make friends. I’ve also got to let his current school know he’ll only be back for a week after half term, and the three-way school run will be very challenging. But hopefully this will mean my daughter is more likely to get a place? Is there anything I can do to speed this process up? Would love to hear about any similar experiences.

Thank you! I’ll repost but thanks to all the other responses I feel much more relaxed about the situation