Moving house to obtain school place

[Missycakes]

My daughter is currently in year 5 so we will be applying for a secondary place this October. The school we would like her to attend is a very popular oversubscribed school. We live approx 20 mins away and based on previous admissions she would not get a place as the furthest place they have offered in previous years has been closer to the school than us. Coincidentally my parents love only 600m from the school and it’s very likely she will be offered a place if we lived there. It’s a major step but we have discussed house swapping with my parents (similar sized properties so not a huge deal) so that she has a better chance of obtaining the school she wants. We would like to do this between us without having to go through the hassle of changing the deeds of the house etc. I have emailed our current school with our intention to move. Will I also have to inform the LEA or will the school do that? Will I have to provide some kind of proof to our current or future school to show we have moved?

Yeah I don't understand how this is any different from renting a flat in catchment without selling your own house. Which is not allowed.

@Missycakes

I’m confused why people are saying it’s suspicious? There are people who rent properties nearby great schools whilst still paying mortgage on their main family home just to obtain school places which is completely above board providing you are in fact living at the property you say you are. I will be living in the property close to the school so my daughter can travel to school more easily as she is of a nervous disposition due to her autism. My question was in regards to informing the LEA and what proof will be required. Everything we are doing to above board.

Renting near the school while you still own another property is very definitely not above board. If the LA find out before places are allocated, they are likely to use the address of the owned property and ignore the rented property. If they find out after places are allocated, many LAs will take the offered place away even if the child has already started school.

In your situation, the thing that would ring alarm bells would be not changing the deeds. If you still own your current house the LA may insist on using that address regardless of where you are living. It would look very much like a temporary swap to get a place with no intention of living in your parents' house permanently. If you want to do this, you need to do it properly and change ownership of the houses. You will need to consult a solicitor as there may be tax implications.

@Missycakes

I was alarmed at some of the responses here and so I did what I probably should have done in the first place and called the local education authority. They said it was no problem at all. Panic over and now my questions have been answered so thank you all for your input.

Make sure you have that in writing. It is not unknown for a council to say one thing then do another. And make sure they understand that it is your intention to leave ownership of the houses as it is. If you change ownership it is definitely fine. If the person you spoke to thought you were going to change ownership, they may have reassured you on that assumption. You may find you have problems if you don't alter the deeds.

OP, all I can add is that the LEA's position might be completely different from the actual school's. You need to be really careful.

Here, the LEA might process your application from your parent's address and think its a valid application, but once you are offered a place at the school you want, you will normally have to send a whole boat load of information to the school. Just by way of example, this is what my DC's (very oversubscribed) school says

In order to be considered as living in a property within our catchment area, families must prove ownership of that home and provide proof of residency upon request ..... Where the property has been owned for less than 2 years, families must provide.. proof of disposal of the previous home i.e. proof that the property has been sold.

In order to be considered as living in a rental property within our catchment area, families must provide a current rental agreement and proof of residence upon request .... If the family has moved from an owned property into rented accommodation, proof of disposal of the previously owned property (i.e. proof that the property has been sold)...

@Gazelda

From an outsider, it looks as though you're borrowing an address in order to be in the school catchment. Which is morally wrong, and probably against your LA's rules.

This ...do not do this . Have you absolutely no conscience,robbing another child’s school place . If you want your child to go there ...do what other parents have had to do and sell your house and move to the catchment area !

@Soontobe60

I’m surprised at those who think this is an acceptable thing to do. Would you feel differently if this child got a place by deceit and your own child therefore didn’t get one legitimately? Because that’s the reality of this.

This is exactly what happened to my child and it was absolutely bloody shocking and upsetting! We eventually won our case through the ombudsman but the stress over a few months really effected my daughter and us as a family!