Moving house before starting reception?

[BabCNesbitt]

Probably done to death, but... DD will be 4 in October, and we'd hoped to buy a place this summer. That's not happened for various reasons, and we probably won't be buying a place until next year. We'll want to stay pretty nearby, but can't guarantee that it'll be in the same catchment that we're in at the moment.

If we apply and get into the nearest primary (which hasn't been oversubscribed in the last year), what would happen if we then moved next spring/summer? Thanks!

Hopeful bump.

Hi bab
Seems this topic is quiet in the holidays!

Are you in a London or City borough with a squeeze on places? Is that why you are worrying? I really wouldn't worry. You are not doing anything wrong.
You can give a change of address after closing date.
There's time yet for the experts to come along and I'm sure they will.
I expect they will advise put all
Communication to the admission office in writing and keep copies. Email is ok. Just in case!

Apply from where you are. If you later move then accept what you are given and ask to go on wait list for closer schools

Thanks for the replies! We're up north. Apparently the schools nearest to us weren't oversubscribed in the last year, so hopefully it wouldn't be too much of an issue, but having hoped to be all settled before applying this autumn, we're just panicking a bit now! We spent a couple of years abroad after DD was born, so when it comes to official things like this, I still feel like we're playing catch-up.

It's better to apply now then try and move schools later when you know exactly where you are then. If you change address before Jan deadline then you can change your preferences. Avoid doing it after that or you will be treated as a late application and just get what's left

When you move you can either apply for other schools or keep your daughter at the local school. They cannot take your daughter's place away just because you move.

Is that so? I didn't realise that! I assumed that if we got into school A and then moved nearer to school B, DD would automatically lose her place in school A.

It depends where you are. In my LA, if you move house after you have submitted your application, or been offered a place and even accepted it, you must inform the LA. The policy says your child may lose its priority for a particular school so she wouldn't definitely lose her place, but it is a possibility.

It depends where you are

That is only true if the OP moves before an offer is made. After the offer is made there are only very limited grounds on which it can be withdrawn. Moving house is not one of them.

Cut and paste from my LA's policy

You must inform the Admissions Team immediately if you change your address, as this may change your child’s priority for a particular school. Failure to advise a proposed change of address may be considered as a misleading application...... If a place is offered at a school and then it is discovered that the offer was made on fraudulent or misleading information (for example, a false claim to living at an address) the place offered will be withdrawn and the place may be offered to another child. It is important to note that a place may also be withdrawn even after your child has started school.

I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, so prh47 probably knows better than I do .

The issue is people who apply in Aug/sept with their proof of address then move before the Jan deadline. That can be deemed fraudulent. It's not particularly an issue where schools are not oversubscribed.

mandy214 - What your LA is trying to do is deter fraudulent applications. They can withdraw a place if the application was misleading or fraudulent. The significant word in the sentence about proposed changes of address is "may". They have to make a judgement as to whether the change meant that the application was deliberately misleading. If it wasn't they cannot withdraw the place.

prh thats what I was trying to say in my original post that when I said "your child may lose it's place" - hopefully you're agreeing! OP, sorry if I caused any confusion. Its something we looked into as we thought we may move after applying for schools - as it happened we didn't move for a couple of years after they started school and we were still in catchment!

Thanks, everyone, for all the replies - sorry I haven't responded sooner! That's definitely reassuring. It seems unlikely at this point that we'll be moving before next April, anyway, but it's good to know that we don't have to panic about not having moved yet!