Panicking - think we'll end up moving house AFTER deadline to apply for schools...

[alittleteapot]

We need to move out of our flat into a house but haven't found the one. i need to apply for school for dd by Jan though she doesn't start till next sept and won't be 5 till June 2012 (so legally could stay in her wonderful nursery for an extra two terms or even a year.)

I'm starting to panic that we're not going to find a house in time and so will have to apply for school here and then won't be able to get into a local one, let alone a good one, once we do finally move.

It's not just the school thing I suppose, I just feel unsettled that we don't yet know where we are going to be and where dd will go to school.

Anyone going through the same or been through the same who can offer moral support?!

We ended up moving 10 days before my DD was due to start school! So we ended up with our 3rd choice school, which I was very pleasantly surprised with. She did move to our first choice a month into term - it's much nearer where we live -when someone left though, so it worked out in the end!

We rented for a few months after selling our house - would that be an option?

thanks for replying. yes we could rent, although that then commits us to an area and if we found a house we loved a bit away she'd still have to move. but at least that way we'd get a school we liked. if we did just wait and do what you did then that gives us another year to find the right house, or even two actually since she is five late in the year and doesn't legally have to start next september. but i'm desperate to have it sorted. Also rather at self for having allowed self to get dragged in to middle class schools angst having firmly decided that wasn't my style... seems it is after all!

I don't know that school-angst is the preserve of the middle-classes, you know. I have a theory ... . but enough of that; you want reassurance.

Well, we ended up moving two weeks after the start of term. It wasn't fun, but also not the end of the world. Two weeks wasn't so bad, because we knew where we were going, and so on. Also, although, obviously, there wasn't a school place for dd where we were moving to, one came up because often people don't turn up for the first day of school, and dd was given one of the not-turned-up places.

It was a hassle, but people move all the time. I think you're right; unless you're super-organised in the coming months, you are basically looking at sending your dd to a local school, so you should start from there ... and then start dealing with the bigger thing about finding a new home.

If you are moving within London (and I'm guessing you are) it's a question of putting your dd on waiting lists as soon as you do have a permanent address. And that's fine, actually, because people in London just don't seem to stay still. Even the most popular schools, the ones where people scramble to get in for Reception, lose about 50% of the classes they started with over the course of the primary years (Reception to year 6). So places come up with great frequency.

It is unsettling, but that's the nature of moving. It's well known as a very stressful thing. On the plus side - how nice - you're going to be house-hunting! I hope you find a lovely home.

If you at least know which local authority you will be moving into, you should check their website and take a look at what they say about primary school admissions. That should tell you how they will treat your application if you move after the deadline. Different local authorities have different policies so there is no simple answer.

Whilst renting may be an option, you again need to check the local authority's policy. Some have policies in place to try and prevent parents renting near a popular school simply in order to get a place fraudulently. Whilst that isn't what you are doing, you need to make sure that you don't get caught out by these rules.

Whilst holding your daughter back until next September is an option, I wouldn't recommend going down that route. In most schools she will go into Y1 rather than Reception. Since Y1 is not the normal year of entry, most schools will already be full so your choice will be limited.

We actually moved after the normal admissions round was over just 3 months before our youngest was due to start school. We had a long fight with the local authority and he spent one term in another school, but we eventually managed to get him in.

Good luck.

You need to apply for a school place by the cutof date, whether you do not put your child into school for 1 or 2 terms after next September.
Being realistic even if you find your dream house tomorrow, if you are in a chain, it is going to be pushing Christmas before you move in. So you have a very narrow window of opportunity to move to a new house before the cut-off date you indicate is in January for school admissions in my opinion.
I think you need to make some decisions sooner rather than later. First of all is there a cut-off date by which you need to move out of the flat? If so that immediately gives you a date by which you must have purchased a house or by which time you need to have arranged a rented property.
You have to realise that moving after the cut-off date is likely to lead to you being given a place at a school you do not want and that getting a place under appeal will depend partially on whether it is an infant class size appeal.
I suspect that you might be best deciding which area you want to live in and which school you have a preference for. Then having checked that you would meet the admission criteria and any regs around renting properties, find a property to rent. That at least then gives you the time to find the ideal home rather than have two issues, a new house and a new school!
Once you have a school place allocated you cannot lose that place unless you have given false information and you can move as it suits you, rather than make rash decisions based on the admission deadline.

i contacted our (new) LEA as we are also in the process of selling, and looking to buy - they told me if you move into an area you can still go into the first round of admissions if you apply by mid feb (they have different dates so check, moving into a new area is classified as a reason for a late application) so that gives an extra bit of time to apply ...
i feel your pain!

thanks all - lots of food for thought. will ring lea and see if they take late apps and go from there. finding it quite hard to think straight about it at the mo cos it all seems a bit huge and anxious-making.