AIBU to move for a rental if it leaves DC out of school?

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Posting for traffic.

Landlord has given us our eviction notice, we have 3 months to leave. Rental market is dire and sparse where we are. We have been offered a rental via a family friend but it would mean moving far from where we are. That would mean DC having to leave school. The area the house is in has a good selection of schools but they are all oversubscribed. I've spoken to the council of that area and they can't offer any help other than to place DC on a waiting list and homeschool in the meanwhile. The schools that aren't oversubscribed are quite rough so we would just keep appealing until we were happy with the school.

Should we leave and gamble DC being out of school indefinitely? The house is perfect and we have fallen in love with it....or do we go back to the uncertainty of not knowing whether we will find a rental in time but trying to stay local for dcs schooling and family/friends

How old are DC?. If they are mid GCSEs it might colour my decision, but if the are say 7 then I prob move

How old are the children? Is homeschooling a feasible option?

have you actually visited the schools that do have places?

When were you given the notice? The renters rights act 2026 came into effect from 1st May which means you can't be given a section 21 (no fault eviction) anymore

I agree it hinges massively on how old dc are?

@Sirzy the schools won't even entertain the idea of a tour since they are all at maximum capacity! So not quite sure how we are meant to decide without seeing them

DC are 5 and 3

You said some aren’t oversubscribed they are the ones I meant.

With the children at that age, I’d go.

@Sirzy oh, the couple of schools that aren't oversubscribed we don't like. DC have been fortunate enough to go to an outdoor based learning school so we would like to keep them in something similar

Even if you get your older kid in, will your younger one get a place in a decent school? Can you afford to not work and home school long term if needed?

Yes, move. You have to live somewhere.

It doesn't sound like you have much choice unless there's housing options in your current location. However, you'd be daft to turn a school down simply because it's not an outdoor learning school. Even if the school doesn't do forest school etc the kids will still get plenty of time outside and you can ensure they get that sort of stuff at the weekend.

Outdoor learning doesn't necessarily make a great school. Lots of forest school is actually done very poorly

Yes, definitely check that you have to leave.

Oh gosh move! They’re tinies, it’ll be fine to have the eldest homeschooled for a bit if you’ve got time to do it. It’s a good time to move as any, much better than later on. I thought you were going to say teens!

Im not sure a primary/ infant school can really be “rough” though - we’re talking about tiny little children!

This.

You are lucky to have this offer.

@Jb2182 the property has been sold so it's all valid

How far away are you moving?

@ShetlandishMum we definitely feel lucky, however it's so far and we will have to leave behind family/friends ect

If you end up presenting as homeless, any temporary accommodation offered to you would likely be far worse and could be even further away.

Take the offer.

YANBU to take the house but YABVU not to send your child to one of the schools you don't like as much. Being out of school at this age will be very difficult for DC.

@NeverDropYourMooncup interesting, when I spoke to the council for assistance with housing they said that they will help to keep us in our area. Obviously we are there isn't much housing at the moment so what they say Vs what they have to offer us isn't necessarily going to be the same

At those ages they won’t miss much and you can easily home Ed a few months if needs be . Move hun

If you are UK, the LA will have to find a school even if that means a school going over PAN. You could also appeal to every school explaining the reasons why you have to move. However there may be a period where you child is out of school while it’s sorted.

At 5 and 3 I'd move