Catchment area solutions

[mummyloveslucy]

There is a school that is just outside our catchment area, it is very over subscribed as it is one of the best in the country according to ofsted. I would like to get my daughter a place, she is 3.5 at the moment.
My mother in law has a very big house just up the road from the school. I just wondered wether it would be worth moving in with her for a while to be in the catchment area. We have are own house in a lovely area so wouldn't want to move house.
I'd want to be honest and say that we'll be moving back to are own house in the neer future, but perhaps I could make some excuse why we're having to live with mother in law.
What do you think ?

Some kids at our local school lost their place a couple of weeks into term when it was discovered they'd lied about their address.

One of the FAQ on our LEA website for schools admission says

My mum / relative lives near the school; can I put her address down?

Only if it is the child's main residence. Evidence of residency at the property may be requested.

Hi, If you live in Herts, check out www.SchoolGuruHertfordshire.co.uk
In Herts, it all rests on your intentions (ie, do you intend your mum-in-law's to be your permanent residence, or not?).
I asked Herts CC about how they'd view someone in your situation, and they replied: "The address you use on your application form should be your child's current permanent address. 'Permanent' means lasting for a long time, or not expected to change. If you were to rent a property, but maintain your current residence with the intention of moving back to it, then the rented property would clearly not be a 'permanent' address. If we believe an applicant has given incorrect information on their application we will investigate accordingly. All such cases are looked at on an individual basis but, where we believe a school place has been obtained fraudulently, we may withdraw the offer and allocate the child a place at another school, which could be some distance from their home". Some headteachers are also turning detective to ensure that the rules are followed. Hope that's helpful.

It is dishonest. Don't do it. You have been on other threads extolling the virtues of the private school your child is currently attending. You are taking the place of a child who has a right to attend this school. Their parents may not be able to afford private fees as you can do. Sorry, have had a glass of wine and am speaking 'honestly', but really, are you serious??????? I am sure I read a thread where you were writing a seriously gushing note to the nursery teacher who teaches your child.

bagsforlife, as I understand it, mummyloveslucy now needs to decide between another baby, and private school for her DD, she can't afford both.

I've read all your posts, thanks everyone for your views.
I've decided not to move in with MIL, but I'll still apply from our home address. We are only just out of catchment so you never know.
My daughter is at a wonderful school at the moment but she has a speech disorder and other issues so I'm not sure wether the school would be right for her as it's very accademic. Also it's private so we'd have to pay for any extra help she might need.
We are also considering having another baby, and we couldn't afford to have two at the school.
I just thought that getting her in to a school with amazing SEN facilities would solve a lot of problems but it is a big school 34-36 in a class, so I don't know if that would be right for her either. It might be the case that our local school would be better.
I don't think it's a morral issue any more than people moving house to be close to a good school, or renting for a while close to that school. They put siblings before catchment area anyway.

Mention your daughter's needs in your application they may be taken into account good luck

I will, thanks mrz.

Hi, you should do more than just mention your daughter's needs - you should equip yourself with documentary evidence, to stand any chance at all of being considered under medical or social needs. Can you get letters from your doctor/paediatrician/speech therapist etc - you should ask them to name the particular school that you want, and give reasons as to why it would suit your child's needs (above all others). Usually, a panel will meet up to consider whether your evidence is sufficiently compelling - so give it your best shot. Good luck!

a tricky one, if you were reallygoing to move in with you mil then i don;t see a problme, the problem is if you are gogin to say you have moved in with your mil and then don;t do so.

school catchments are a notoriously difficult subject matter and some peopel get completley worked up about them.

we had a situation recently regarding senior schools (my ds1 is about to start year7 in sept) and when we applied for his place we lived in teh catchment for the school that everyone wants to get their child into, due to unforseen reasons we moved from the area after our child had been accepted and was guaranteed a place, but we moved to an area thatw as equally as nice but further away form the school and out of catchment, as it happened the area we have moved to ahs an equally as good school and we applied for a place for ds1 there on the basis that we moved. we were successful, but we ahev ahd a lot of backlash form friends who don;t live in the correct cathcment areas, trying to get their 11 year olds into the schools and are furious with us becasue we turned down one school and succeed in obtaining a palce in another so called top performing school.

but i do say that my spersonal experience of schools a lot depends on the child and their upbringing. i attended a school with poor success rate but left with 10 GCSES and 4 A levels all of at least a B grade and went onto university but my cousin who attended a very well known private girls school left with two GCSES in drama and english language.

sorry i think i need to get to the point and say i think you should be honest about your application.

sorry didn;t read the whole thread, sn obviosuly a whole differnt dilemma.

I don't think it's worth lying on an application. If you are moving in with your MIL, fine. If not, you and your child will have to keep the lie going and I think that's an unpleasant position to be in.

Mummyloveslucy says she's not going to lie - although lots of people do (and get away with it). She's also got a child who faces particular challenges (speech disorder etc). That's why I hope she gets what she wants!

Mummyloveslucy says she's not going to lie - although lots of people do (and get away with it). She's also got a child who faces particular challenges (speech disorder etc). That's why I hope she gets what she wants!

Mummyloveslucy says she's not going to lie - although lots of people do (and get away with it). She's also got a child who faces particular challenges (speech disorder etc). That's why I hope she gets what she wants!

Unless she can provide evidence that her child has SEN then the school won't take that into account@SchoolGuru

mummyloveslucy is this the mil who was irritating you by keep telling people her grandaughter was going to a convent school?

and if your not going to lie -misleading is in my opinion the same thing.

Stop beating her up, everyone! In one of her last posts, she said:

I've decided not to move in with MIL, but I'll still apply from our home address. We are only just out of catchment so you never know.

She's doing the legal, decent and moral thing! Probably won't get a place now, of course.

IN a sense hers is the more moral position - if we think selection by house price (only people with a huge house like the mother in law who can afford to live near by get in etc) then that's very unfair and to make it fair having people who can't afford to live there might actually even out the social mix in the school a bit better.

We know someone who lied and used grandparent address, got first son into the school at 11 but they had rumbled them by the time second one came along and in the end the parents paid for him to go to a private secondary school

MLL 34-36 in a class? This is illegal at infant level (30 is max) unless there are 2 teachers, in which case it's only like 17 in a class which is great of course.

I agree with others, look round the school and others in the area too. Also get paed and SALT to support your application if you feel one school is better than another for your DD.

I don't think MLL ever said that her mother in law's house was better/more expensive just closer so it isn't really an issue of selection by house price just by distance.
I really don't see that she is doing anything terrible (or illegal) by moving in with her mother in law and applying from there (if her mother in law were to agree and she could face living with her mother in law). It's a totally different thing to use someone else's address and NOT live there.