IF you knew some people who have cheated on their registred address in order to get their kids in the best school...

[Summerfruitfullofscaryworms]

Would you do report them or would you do nothing ? I know some people who have managed to cheat...they are "renting" a place just near the school where everybody want to put their kids (including me) but they are not leaving there..they are at least 1 mile from this school so not in the catchment...my dd is probably going to be refused a place because we are living at 547 m from the school and the limit is 532 m...I feel like crying, it's so unfair, I feel powerless. What would you do ??

I think the vast majority of parents claim child benefit. It's an almost universal benefit (for those who have children). Much easier to check residency with that than utility bills as presumably, if you rent somewhere, you will have bills for that address even if you don't use much in the way of energy.

Kaz - I really hope so...I'm looking at the other options and performances well it's really poor and the school look shit as well...

The head at one of our local secondary schools hired a private detective to check that some of his prospective pupils really did live where they claimed to live. i think it made the national press.

Caroline - I'm definitely for it !!!!!

Caroline - lol!!! Good on her!
I own a flat a few yards from a polpular school, which I rent out, ususlly thu' the school newsletter. I (only once) had a call from someone desperate to rent to cheat and they were very blatant about having a house somewhere else. I refused to rent to them, because however arbitrary the rules are, the ARE the rule, and if they need chnaging , fine, but NOT thru cheating!
Schools try really hard to be seen to be fair - I would shop them and have no sleepless nights over it - any more than I would if I saw - say a child cheating in an entrance exam.

At dd2's school (popular non-church school in leafy area) we had to provide two proofs of address, one of which had to tie the child to the address, ie. child benefit letter for the current year, or ditto tax credit letter.

so they can ask for child benefit correspondence, though even that isn't foolproof if you're really determined.

just reading all these references to child benefit letters, don't think i've ever had one! or maybe i haven't changed my address since i moved last spring? how do i go about changing my address so i get a letter for the child benefit. also, we have the deeds of our house to prove residency, but i don't get much in the way of paper bills these days, am a bit concerned i'm not going to be able to prove address when the time comes for my DS to apply for school. do you have to apply these with the application or only when you accept the place? in that sense i hope the school i want DS to get ino does ohme visits as it's pretty obvious we live her permanently

Caroline, we may have had this conversation before, but was the school St George's by any chance? In that case, we live near each other...

Edam - yes! Waving to you.

Here is the detective story for those who want to read it. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/6666727.stm

I still maintain that child benefit cannot be proved by everyone, you might find it hard to believe but there are many people who do not claim it, even though as you say it is a right. Some people just don't need it and some don't think it right to claim it.

I have several friends who don't, but they were as surprised that anyone should think that should claim it just for the sake of it.

That may well be, but that vast majority of people do claim it and, if someone doesn't, they would presumably be asked to provide some other form of proof.

I don't know anyone who doesn't claim it, including a number of friends who are very wealthy. They tend to put it in a savings account for the children.

I would shop them. No question. Apart from anything else, how are the less well performing schools going to improve if they don't get a proper mix of parents and children?

And I don't believe there should be faith schools either but if there are, then people should need a reference from their church confirming that they have been regular attenders for at least 5 years - probably longer before they can be considered for a place.

I know - I should get a life. But I was interested!! "Child Benefit, which is not means-tested, has a take-up rate of around 98%." - Kate Green, Chief Exec, Child Poverty Action Group.

I would not necessarily conclude that the 2% of non-claimants are wealthy - just very silly indeed.

Or they may not speak English very well? Or have husbands who don't like the fact that the money goes directly to the woman?

Seeker - It doesn't necessarily go to the woman.

For some inconsequential reason, DP filled in the Child Benefit paperwork and routed it into his bamk account. We got a letter back, addressed to me, asking that I complete it and it go into mine or a joint account - or that at least i sign something to say I wanted it to go to DP.

Child benefit was originally developed to ensure that the mother had some money to feed the child/ren. This was in the days when men were paid the wages and a number of them would then drink it away down the pub.

It was developed to avoid the mother having no access to any money. I believe it is traditionally still paid to the mother, but can be redirected in certain circumstances.

Ithought child benefit could be paid to anyone with parental responsibility. The person receiving it receives home responsiblities relief for the state pension. It would be incredibly sexist if it could be only paid to the mother.

It can be paid to anyone bringing up a child. However, it used to be paid only to the mother to ensure she had access to some money (mind you feeding a child on that amount isn't easy). It is only in relatively recent years that it has been available to anyone with responsibility for a qualifying child.

I suspect that the vast majority of claimants are the mother, although grandparents and fathers do claim too.

Child benefit goes to the mother apart from in exceptional circumstances. It dates from a time when all welfare benefits went to men, and the idea was that at least some money would be available to mothers, even in circumstances where she had no access to any other "family" money. My brother was a single parent, and he could claim it, but it's still quite unusual for a single parent to be a man. So it is mainly a benefit paid to women. Not sexist - a lifeline in some circumstances!

Poeple who cheat the system are probably the same people who bemoan the state of our society where honesty, hard work and concern for your neighour has been replaced with cheat at all costs and nihilism.

I wonder if these people really think about the moral code that they are instilling in their children?

I wouldn't report them as a matter of course, though I would prob seriously consider it if I my child had been refused a place on tenuous grounds (such as 15 metres outside of 'catchment')