Moving address (legitimately) once you've got a place

[heidiplait]

I'm a novice when it comes to schools but my son starts next September so I'm having to gen up on all things education...

My question is simple: I'm moving to a different part of the country and will be renting for the first six months to a year while I get myself sorted with work etc. I'll be applying for my son's primary place from this rented accommodation but I intend to buy within eighteen months, and probably well before this. So what happens if I move out of the catchment area once he's started school? It's my intention to stay local to wherever he goes, but prices are hefty in this town and many of the schools are pretty oversubscribed so it's possible I might end up just out of catchment.

Has anyone been in this situation? Do you lose your place? I'm not trying to fiddle the system but aware that many people are being investigated for renting (falsely) to get in to popular schools etc and don't want to be in a difficult situation down the line.

TIA

The important date is the last date for on-time applications. If you are in rented accommodation then and you are still in the same rented accommodation on the date that the places are allocated then you normally should have no problems. There are a few LAs that try and put other criteria in about moving and you just need to check what exactly it says for the school involved. If you move between the cut-off time for on-time applications and the time of the allocation date then it gets a bit more complicated and it would be best to avoid that.
If you move after the place has been allocated then there would be no issues about having the place removed. It should not happen.

That's totally fine. You are not restricted to never moving once you have a school place. The bit that authorities are cracking down on is where families own a house, and rent temporarily to get a DC into a school, then move back to their house.

You will be genuinely moving to a rented house which is your only place of residence, and then genuinely moving to an owned house. This will not cause any problems.

Brilliantly quick replies, thank you both for putting my mind at rest... I was getting very worried about it. I suppose there's a natural curb anyway on people moving too far away from a school, as you've a) got the school run to contend with every morning and afternoon and b) it's no fun for your DC if all your friends live on the other side of town.

Just avoid moving between the January when the applications deadline is, April when allocation is made and the September.

As has already been said, moving between April and September should not be a problem. The LA cannot withdraw an offer of a place just because you have moved.

I only say it as in our area people who do end up getting investigated when suspicious parents report them wrongly etc

The LA is entitled to investigate. What they cannot do is withdraw a place because someone has moved unless there is reason to believe the original application was fraudulent or intentionally misleading.