Wrong address on School Admission - please help!

[namestresses]

Hi All,

I need your help - I am so stuck, I just don't know what to do.

When we applied for a primary school place, we lived at house X, close to our preferred school but out of catchment. Catchment is a not-so good school.

We moved house in April, just up the road to house Y, same catchment as the not so good school but slightly further from the preferred school.

We got the letter in May saying we hadn't got into the preferred school and we had got into the catchment one. Disappointing, but unsurprising since preferred school is oversubscribed. Went on waiting list for preferred school.

ANYWAY... (sorry for long story history!)

I got a letter yesterday saying that we had been offered a place in preferred school! I was SO SO SO happy I screamed.
Until DH pointed out that the letter was redirected from old house X.
The LEA didn't have our new address.
I informed the council but didn't realise the LEA was a separate 'entity' as it were.

I feel sick. I mean, I actually feel physically ill. I don't know what to do. Accept the place and change address with the school once we start, or tell the LEA we aren't at that address and lose the place we wanted?

We WERE at house X when we applied. I THOUGHT I had done the right thing by notifying the council. But now I am so worried that if I am honest and correct it now that I know my mistake, I will lose a place we so desperately wanted.
Can anyone offer advice? Please be kind - I was naive and I feel like an idiot already, I don't need to be flamed :(

Good luck today, let us know how you go. What a horrible situation. When I first read this I thought I too would just accept the place but yes the stress and worry would not be good so probably better to ring and be above board.

Let us know what happened Ive been following your thread

By now the LA must have the distance of the last person admitted to the school because they use them in their letters preparing people for appeals. "this person leaved this far, you leaved that far so you can't get a place". Like another poster said ask as a prospective applicant.

If you do decide to keep your old home address then during enrolment they will ask you for proof of address. I think they must be less than 3 months old. I know in the nursery they came to our place and visited but at reception they didn't, although our son was new to that school. I don't know what the policy there is.

I have called that independent advice line about 15 times today but no answer...(all the lines are busy)

I have looked at their site and I think they can help so I am not going to call the LEA until I have spoken to this advice line first. Will keep you posted!

I would accept the place and then tell the school your new address when your child starts. You put the correct address on when you filled in the form so that should be all that counts.

Ninani - I can actually prove we live at the old address - even though we don't! I was slow in getting everything fully changed over (full time work, 2 DC, you know how it is!) and the council cocked up our address change and I think that only happened in June (despite us moving in April).

Might be a bit awkward if anyone popped by and saw it empty with a big FOR SALE sign outside though!!

Ninani - when did they do the visit? After you applied or during/after the hols?

Before you phone the LA, stop and think how you will feel if it means the place is withdrawn. I have seen places withdrawn in Aug before. I saw 3 over a 5yr period of teaching Reception in an over-subscribed school. I'd get a class list in July so I could label trays etc and then be informed that certain children were no longer eligible for the place and so another child would be on the revised list in Sept. Two were in the same year and had been two families who rented a flat between them. Someone tipped the LA and they were found out. Although your situation was a genuine mistake, that will make no difference to the outcome as due process needs to be upheld.

I don't agree with parents giving false information but that isn't the case here. If you tell them and that results in you losing the place will you be sat in tears come Septemeber wishing you'd kept your mouth shut?

I have never known them to take the place away once term starts. I'm not saying this definitely won't happen but its far less likely. Keep a redirection on the post and go in nearer half term to say you've moved. If it's discovered don't lie but just say you didn't even notice it was the old address and that you'd informed the council of the new one.

Unless, of course, you need to fill out another enrolement form which asks for current address. In which case you need to be honest.

i havent read through the whole thread just the first page, but so far my advice would be to ring the lea and ask as to what basis the placement was given. they may tell you that it was based on the address on the app' and at that point you can say well you do have my new address dont you? if they say yes it doesnt matter, all well and good. if they say no, you then say well i did inform you of the move.

or you can use the fact that we are in the summer holidays to your advantage and turn up at the new school on the first day of school and just pop into the office and update you mobile number/house number and 'check' they have all the other info too. play dumb, dont lie. if questions are asked, answer truthfully. then if the placement is questioned, make a complaint to the lea that you gave the right info when needed and they mustnt have processed it/made a note of it and its their fault and point blank refuse to move your son as it would cause too much stress to him to have two 'first days' at such an important time of his life.

hope that helps if the situation hasnt been solved already

ill have a looky at the last post and be back to appologise if necessary!!!

nykxx

spottyfrock - you have hit the nail on the head with how I feel.
I am so grateful for the support and opinions on here.

I won't be posting much over the weekend - going to have some much needed family time - and chat with DH about this situation.

I think the thing is, when left to my own devices without reading MN or news reports, I decide to keep quiet and change mid term. I could do this. Risky, but doable.

When I read the posts and consider what might happen, I shit myself.

I think I need a couple of days to step back and mull it over.

Do you not worry how you got the place when at first you didn't? Maybe they investigated everyone on the list and found someone had lied so withdrew their place.

How would you have felt if your child had gone to the other school and you discovered that a parent had withheld information about their house move that would have enabled your child to go to the better school? That someone in effect took your place?

My boys go to an outstanding school and it is oversubscribed every year. If it was discovered that someone got their child in by withholding information about a house move when they knew they were in the wrong there would be pitchforks.

When my first child got into the school we had to watch other parents crying in the playground (nursery pick up) because they didn't get in. I'm too honest, I would fess up and hope to keep the place but understand that there are rules for a reason.

Fizzy, I think it's far more likely that the OP got the place through natural movement. There is always summer movement with regards admissions. People apply in the previous Sept then move out the area and forget to say and parents hold the place waiting to see if the independent place comes up or they can still afford it. Most parents going private still apply for their local catchment 'just in case' then when they get the offer finally tell the LA they no longer need/want it.

I don't agree with parents lying to get in either but in this case, I'd advise the OP to pretend her DH didn't spot the address.

Very difficult decision OP, really feel for you. Don't want to worry you further but DD is starting in reception in September and we are having a home visit from her teacher during the first week of September, just before she starts. If your particular school do that you will have a problem

I am quite amazed at how virtuous many of the people on here are, but in reality if it was their child then they would probably be experiencing exactly what you are! If it were me, and it was my Childs education then I would not say a word. You have not been deliberately deceitful. This will potentially have a massive impact on your ds life. Good luck op

Just accept the place and keep getting your post redirected.
I think they would only take a place away if you have acted with teh intention to mislead.

"I think they would only take a place away if you have acted with teh intention to mislead." Yes but op is now if she doesn't take the opportunity to make , what may well be an academic, correction to an oversight.

I agree with Custard Cream. I'm sure you've done this but taken purely practically the outcomes could be: (a) there is no error and you get the nice school (b) there is an error, but you still get the nice school or (c) there is an error and you get the school you had 'settled for' or (d) the error is discovered after school, the place withdrawn and you may get a very bad school a long way away. It seems like banging bits of uranium together to make fire-it'll probably be fine, but it might cause a hell of a big bang.

Your problem is that assessing likelihoods is hard. As a teacher, I don't think you have a great deal to fear from an over-zealous school thinking it through and reporting you (not our job), but you will need to tell them of a change and that will produce paperwork. Then there is your original, maybe lost, maybe working through system, maybe got there but irrelevant change of address. And then there are cross checks, which may or may not have been done yet.

Couldn't you just ring the LA pretending you were thinking of moving before the school year and ask how this would affect the placement? That at least would let you know if you are in the wrong. If you are, chances of discovery seem quite high, and consequences could be horrible-just a question of risk that you alone can make.

People here talk of doing far worse, far more intentionally, legally or otherwise, to get good places. I wouldn't beat yourself up over the morality of it.

Given that op's son will have missed out on induction sessions it is quite possible they would be earmarked for a visit and also need to be sent information about uniform, phased starts and so on. If post continues to be redirected then it could well delay such communication by a few days at least which at best is inconvenient.

I don't think you have much to 'fear' from the school. You don't live so far away as to register as really anomalous for home visits or addresses, especially as you got in through the waiting list and so would be expected to live further away than some. Most teachers have given up worrying about admissions a long time ago. The school may also already have your new address-where is communication from them being sent?

Parental grapevines (especially if walking to school) will be a hassle, as will all the bits of paper floating about. Your motives will be irrelevant if anyone spots the problem and it is a changing factor in admission, even if you'd sent your kid to school in happy ignorance it would still be the wrong address and that could be catastrophic.

admission-if the LA is informed but fails to take proper measures (as here) isn't this also sometimes a reason why ICS rules can be ignored-I can think of several threads where parents claim 30 plus were allowed because the LA had wrongly admitted children. Isn't this, assuming with no evidence OP not 'really' got a place, just one such case?

AoB, I think it would possibly hinge on how the OP had informed the relevant bodies of the change of address.

I mean, at one extreme, if the OP had sent a change of address to the contact address advised in the admissions paperwork, but the LEA had failed to apply that address properly - then the error will be the LEA's and as long as the OP could prove that the information was sent, it would be unreasonable to withdraw the place.

At another extreme, the OP could have informed the council tax department that she had moved wrt council tax liability, but made no specific effort to inform the education / admission departments to ensure that the same address was applied to her waiting list application - in that case, it could be argued that the OP had not made reasonable efforts to inform those handling school admissions, and the fault would be hers so it would be reasonable to withdraw the place if the proper address did not result in a place being allocated.

A position whereby the OP made a reasbonable attempt to inform the education department of her new address (e.g. by sending a letter or e-mail to a general 'admin' address) but did not use exactly the contact address specified in the admissions paperwork might be more arguable either way.

Expecting admission along shortly with better information!

I think you need to live at the old address for 6 months to keep the place at the preferred school. You could inform school about your new address in a few months but:

1. The Council has your new address. Once the school gets your new address they will inform the LA and you will need to confirm it.
2. If there are school children living at your old house that could be a problem too because the school would have two families at the same address.

I think that taking into consideration you did inform the Council about your new address but not the LA that could help but may not. In the application form they ask about your present address and additional information so that is where you should have put your new address too. LA would be curious why you did not.

Why I would not tell LA. You have got a place at this school. The Council has your new address but the LA hasn't (separate on line databases). That means that when you tell the school about your new address the LA will update it and that it. If they used the same database they would have had your new address on already.

Sorry, last post, kids away so I need someone to worry about!

I really think you and your DH need to be clear on what the rules are-what date should be used and who should inform who of a change. Then you can work out if there is a problem, being honest about how far you did what was expected (where I am Council and LA totally different-don't know about you). There may be no error or worry, or it may be their cock-up. In those cases sleep easier. If you wanted to, why not ring on Monday explaining that you are thinking of applying next year but your tenancy expires and you'll be moving-lying but not revealing who you are.

Otherwise, only you can decide on whether to take the risk, but it is huge, and percentages hard to give.

In our area, if you had moved 0.2 miles away you would have moved about 10 places down the waiting list in the year that ds started school, so I don't think you would necessarily keep the place. I suspect that if you confess, they will withdraw the place as there will be others living closer than you and the LEA will follow the procedure very strictly as they always do. I think it's a great idea to phone up as a prospective parent and see how far away the furthest child lives.

As I see it, if you confess now you could well lose the place and end up at the worse school, and if you get found out then the worst that will happen is that you will end up at the worse school (or home ed), so, confessing is a bit of a lose-lose situation. If you get kicked out in the first few weeks of term (far less likely than them withdrawing the place now) then that is a big shame, but your ds will adapt and children do change school all the time.

I think that given that you informed the LA of the change of address, you could argue this if they tried to withdraw the place.

In summary, even as a generally law-abiding and honest person, I would definitely accept the place, it's your ds and his education is far more of a priority, if they throw you out then you are no worse off than you would've been in the first place, but at least you will have tried............. I know of two families in ds class who have moved since applying and one of them got into a school near their original house and they have never come back.

Although it is perhaps morally questionable, I don't think you had any malicious intentions in the beginning, and had you not seen the letter had been redirected, you would've bought the new uniform already. I think that your priority should be your ds, just accept the place and keep your fingers crossed, life experience has taught me that you win some and lose some, don't lose sleep over it.