Co parenting and choosing a primary school

[TreadingWaterBarely]

Does anyone have any experience with 50/50 co parenting and choosing a primary school?

My ex partner and I live 17 miles apart. We currently have our 3.5 year old son 50/50 around his 4x4 work shift pattern, but his legal residence is my address.
I'm just wondering if anyone might have any experience of this kind of situation when choosing a primary school for the first time. I really don't know how it will work with the distance. Thanks in advance.

I believe you have to use the child's legal address for the application process. (For a state school). Admissions are based on catchment area.
Of course if you are planning for a private school it probably doesn't matter.

@ChestnutSquash the application process is all dealt with.
To be honest I was hoping to find someone who has experienced this kind of dynamic before.
Thanks for your comment though

Not me, but a friend. I assume your DS will be going to school near you? That was the case with the family I know, and contact almost immediately dropped to EOW and a bit more with dad in the holidays.

Realistically, a tired little one can’t be doing long journeys before or after school.

You can't do 50 50 for a school age child and live 17 miles apart. One of you moves or one does EOW only.

Honestly it might be possible to maintain 50/50 but it would be selfish to do so for your child. You live too far apart for it to be easy for him to transition between houses during the week when he is at school.

If you've already sorted the application, I'm assuming for this September then did you and his father not discuss what this would look like day to day?

50/50 won’t work very well for DC once school age. It might be what the parents want, but he’s going to have 5 days at school, activities he wants to do, school clubs, play dates, birthday parties, they’ll be school meetings, school plays and assemblies, reading and writing practice. How will that all fit in with 17 mile journeys and switching homes so much?

It’s not going to work.

you’ve got 2 options.

one of you moves house or you abandon 50:50

To be honest I was hoping to find someone who has personally experienced this kind of dynamic before not just peoples opinions.
Thanks for the comments though.