No postcode = no school place ... getting "twitchy" ..

[mrssmooth]

[Copied from Chat - thanks to the ladies who replied there ..]

We are due to move out of our current area (Hampshire) over the summer holidays. We decided to wait until after dd1 had finished year 6, and so all 3 dcs would start school in the new school year. I have written to some of the schools in the area we will be moving to (Ashford, Kent) and they have all said that until you have a confirmed postcode you cannot apply for a school place. We are about to start looking for a place to buy, having just sold the house we're in now (moving into temp accommodation in Hants in the meantime). I'm getting worried about not getting the exchange of contracts done before the schools break up.

So getting to the point, what can I do if none of my dcs are offered a place? (I believe I can put down 2 choices for each child.)

You have to be found and offered a place somewhere. The snag is that it will be at the nearest school where there is a vacancy, and that might not be a school you'd choose, and it may not be close (but they have to provide transport if over the regulation distance).

I don't think there's any way round this. The only exception that exists is for Forces families, who can start the process on the strength of a postings order before their new quarter is finally allocated.

I'd be surprised if it was as few as 2 preferences per child, but you need to get definitive advice on this from the LEA (unless the schools are academies or VA or otherwise in charge of their own admissions).

As EdithWeston says, most LEAs won't accept applications without a firm address but, that said, if the school has a vacancy it has to give it to anyone who applies for it, so if by any chance your preferred school is under-subscribed and has vacancies, the lack of a local address shouldn't be an issue and you could apply now from your current address. Otherwise, you could use your temporary address as the basis of your application for school places, in which case it would be wise to find somewhere close to your preferred school.

As you will be applying outside the normal admissions round, the Fair Access Protocol will apply, which means that your children could be admitted to a school that was full, if there were no suitable vacancies anywhere else. The LEA has to find you something.

Thank you for your replies. We are hopeful that we will be able to buy a property very soon - in fact we are just waiting to hear whether we can view somewhere this weekend, but these things take time! As I understand it, for it to be a "confirmed" address/postcode, we need to have exchanged contracts. Is my understanding right?

It's all very complicated - my dsis, who lives in Scotland and is a teacher, says that any child who moves into the area is automatically given a place from the LEA (or Scottish equivalent) - the parents do not have to apply to schools! How much easier it would be if that were the case here .. much less worry and stress for me, at least!!

When I emailed a few of the schools and explained our situation, I did ask if they could give me any idea of whether they would have any vacancies - out of 3, only one came back and said that dd2 would have a place, but there were currently no places for dd3 although there might be in September ...! Do you think it might be worth my while phoning the schools to ask outright if they will have vacancies? My worry is that a direct approach may not be well received, and I don't want to start off on the wrong foot with anyone!

About the address: Most LEAs are on the alert for fraud and so want something that shows that you are definitely living in the property. Often they ask for utility bills or check that you are on the electoral register or paying council tax there. Again, the LEA should be able to tell you what they require, especially if you have only just bought a property.

About the vacancies: It is LEAS which handle admissions rather than individual schools (except, as I mentioned, where the school is an academy, VA or a foundation). You should therefore get the latest info by contacting the LEA - the school might not be aware (say) of offers made in the last couple of days.

Schools may well not know if they will have vacancies. People often don't know well in advance they are moving. Parents may well not tell them until quite late if they are moving to private and so on.
Actually if you won't be taking up the places until September there is a long time before people will tell schools eg. teachers in private schools only have to give 1 terms notice, in state schools it is usually 1/2 a term.

Which area of Ashford are you looking at buying in? Do you realise it's a Grammar/ Secondary Modern area?

As others have said the LEA has to offer you a place for each child, but the schools with vacancies will be those no-one else wants and could well be quite a way from where you live.

I'm in Kent and we have always had 3 choices

Gladys - we're looking at the Willesborough area. I know about the Kent test part, as I spoke to a lady at the council today re secondary spaces. She told me to list all the schools available (gave me the names of them all) and told me to list them in order of preference. As I was asking abou the Kent Test, she said to put the grammar school down as my first choice and they would be in touch to arrange for dd to sit the test, and that they had over 30 vacancies at present. She also told me one of the schools was very oversubscribed. She also recommended applying for the secondary school place through my LEA (ie Hampshire) just to get the ball rolling. I guess that would be the same for the primary/infant & junior schools too ... Thanks for the info re schools not actually knowing whether they have vacancies or not, that's good to know!

You do have a postcode - your current one.

You can apply for a school in Kent from you current post code.

If it has vacancies, it has to accept you.

Find the school you want the DC to go to rent a room in that catchment area and then get your application in asap.
I was in your position last year and we didn't relocate in the end as it was such a bloody plaolva

We shall be in the exact same position next year (and relocating to Ashford too, although just SW of the town).
I've been advised that I will need to show a solicitor's letter confirming exchange of contracts on a property with DD's secondary school applications in October. Luckily we should be able to buy a property down there over this summer but I won't be living there full time until DD has finished Yr 6. I think DH and DS (who's already at a Kent boarding school) will live there with DD and I commuting at weekends. I don't want to change DD's primary school as she has already changed once and the house move itself will be stressful enough for our dc.
If we really can't purchase a property in time I think we will just have to rent something basic in September (in time to be included on the 2013 electoral register).
Worry, worry, stress, stress.