So you move to the catchment area,

[winkywinkola]

contact the local education authority to tell them you're living there, apply for the schools you like with them and then hope for the best?

Is that what you do?

You need to check the website of the LA where you will be living. Some LAs insist that you apply directly to your preferred schools and only go to them if you can't find a place. Others will want you to apply through the LA.

Which of the Home Nations are you in?

We are looking to move to York over the summer with a view to enrolling the dcs into school for September. Optimistic?

Do they operate catchments? All the LA had to do is offer the nearest school with appropriate places. They may not be at same school nor close/catchment. Timing tight to do so over summer.

This summer for this September? Spaces will have been allocated by summer so it would be a case of having a place at a school with spaces left or joining waiting lists.

Oh. They have catchment maps for their non-selective secondary schools on the websites.

Perhaps they just offer the nearest primary school in that case.

They will offer the nearest school with a place available. That may be a nearby school but it could be miles away.

Just spotted that one of your posts mentions DCs. If you have two or more children there is no guarantee they will end up at the same school.

No idea about schools in York specifically, but by the summer all reception places will have been allocated, so being in catchment area for popular schools won't guarantee you a place if schools are oversubscribed. It might mean a better place on the waiting list, but that's dependent on other kids leaving.

They'll be obliged to offer you a place in the nearest school with places, but that's not necessarily going to be any of your nearest schools.

I think it will depend which schools you want.

You won't be able to apply until you have moved.
I sit on appeals panels and a common scenario is the family who move next door to a school but after the places have been allocated. They are then offered places at whichever school can take their child. Often siblings are allocated to different schools at a distance from one another.

So it's going to be very difficult to relocate and get the schools for all the dcs.

Once they're in primary schools, can we reapply the following year to get them into the same one? Or is that the one you get and that is that?

we did this and it worked out ok for us.

we moved (into rented) before the end of the summer term - dcs stayed with family in our old town and at their old school for the last 2 weeks. This meant that we could be on lists before the school holidays. I also spent the summer term phoning round the schools and phoning the admissions person. the schools could tell me where I was on the waiting list - in fact one of the schools didn't have a waiting list. I also visited a couple of schools and got to know the heads (so they at least knew who I was).

The admissions person will tell you which schools have places and which have waiting lists. Then you focus on the schools with smaller or non-existent waiting lists and go and live in their proximity (ime). Some times people don't tell the schools they're leaving until the last day of term or even during the school holidays. It is very stressful.

I had 3 primary children and in the end got offered 2 in one school and 1 in another. I took those places with a view to moving them all to the same school - By Easter the following year they were all in the same one (in fact I moved the 2 children to the other school as I preferred it). .

We're moving. I contacted the council for a list of schools with places in the required year. Then we looked for a house and started looking at schools.

No you don't formally reapply unless there is infant/junior/middle school system which requires it. You get places for your dc then put them on waiting list for the desired school/s. If one is already placed there you may get sibling priority on the list so could jump ahead of those who have been waiting longer but are without a sibling link. You could appeal but if the dc is below year 3 you are up against class size restrictions.

A relative of ours moved his family down south last summer. His son was delayed three months starting school
Because they couldn't get anywhere and had to put in an appeal.

We did a big relocation nearly 2 years ago. We looked at places we might want to live then called the school to find out if they had places. We were only looking for one place at the time but it is a village school and did have places so we then looked at houses based on this and applied when we had exchanged I think.

Appeal could be useful as long as your child/children are not in years R to 2. Above that and you have a chance of getting a place on appeal.

So basically: you move
you apply for schools you'd like to your LA
In a "reasonable" amount of time they offer you schools
You accept schools, but go onto the waiting lists of any you prefer
You can also appeal for schools you prefer - but its not really worth it for years R-2.

It sounds very uncertain but it normally works without too many problems for most people. But people do sometimes move their children after they've moved.