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Original poster

Do i have to tell current school I'm looking to move children?

50 replies

Justjoseph · 21/10/2016 17:08

I'm really unhappy with the current school, I have filled in an inyear transfer for online from the council, however they have returned a form for the school to fill in before the application is considered.
Surely I won't have to tell the current school before I know that the new school has free places.

I thought you just rang up and if they had a place it was yours! Apparently not.

Any help much appreciated.

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elfonshelf · 21/10/2016 19:58

We were offered a place at our 1st choice school 3 weeks into the start of the first term of Reception.

They rang on the Thursday morning, asked us to come in and sign all the forms on the Friday and bring DD for a tour and start the following Monday.

I couldn't tell the existing primary in person as DD was picked up by childminder, so I just rang and told them that she wouldn't be coming back. It was just before the date when funding is calculated so I knew they would want to get another pupil in asap.

I was quite surprised that I didn't have to go in and sign anything. They just asked which school she was moving to. Didn't have to give reasons or anything. They filled the place the following day. Seemed rather open to things going horribly wrong, but perhaps there were communications behind the scenes with the LA?

Anyway, having felt very anxious that they would think I was criticising them, it was all simple.

I don't think you have to let them know before you have a place if you don't want to.

Original poster
Justjoseph · 21/10/2016 20:13

Thank you for your reply, that's what I expected to do, I almost moved them a few years back but foolishly thought things would get better.

It appears the LEA have changed the process, I don't want to say we want to move to then not have a school to move to.

OP posts:
TeacherBob · 21/10/2016 20:15

No you dont

Believeitornot · 21/10/2016 20:15

IF you're not happy with the school, you should talk to the school if you haven't. What if other children are affected by this?

We moved our kids recently and didn't have to tell the current school. They found out when we told them we had a new place.

hels71 · 21/10/2016 20:23

I moved my DD at the start of this term.

I had to fill in a form, get her old head to fill in his bit and sign it to approve of the move, then send it to county who sent it to the head of the school I wanted her to go to. He then said he would take her and returned the form to county, who then wrote me confirming her new place.

I had to state on my form that I had spoken to both her old school and the one I wanted her to go to.

I knew the school I wanted her to go to would take her as the head had said so (she is now year 4 so not an infant class size thing..)

This is in Wiltshire. Maybe different LEA's have different ways of doing things?

Original poster
Justjoseph · 21/10/2016 20:28

I've been talking to the school for yeArs, nothing has or will change. I don't want to fight them, I just want to opt out and move.

They already think I'm a pain in the ass and I just want to leave without them knowing. You wouldn't tell a current employer that you are looking for a new job would you!?

OP posts:
FATEdestiny · 21/10/2016 20:35

No, you dont.

If the schools are local to each other, the Heads may well contact each other though. I know that happens in our family of schools. Not as a means to affect the avalibility of a place, but more to encourage discussion and resolution rather than moving schools.

It is highly disruptive to a child's education to change schools.

3asAbird · 21/10/2016 20:48

Ok we moved start of year 2 in 2012
I asked council who had vacancies
Found a school
Looked round
Liked it
Applied through council mid year admissions.
Spoke to lady from council who said sent new school head letter confirming offer and copying in old school head I was mortified as had jot had chance to discuss with old school head who I actually liked.
He was off sick I tried to talk to old schools and deputy head said if you unhappy just leave.
We told no one we were due to start after oct half term so stated quiet the whole week.
On the day we broke up just before pickup I went schools office and gave in letter saying we leaving and why we then went to classroom door to pick daughter up
We explained to class teacher we detested that she had to clear her draw we would not be back next term
Not sure if the mess school was in at time meant councils email went unnoticed as they seemed shocked class teacher seemed angry.

Moved 2nd child last year but schools knew from beginning they were a stop gap as silly council wouldent give us older siblings school so schools were understanding and seemed fully informed of dd2 and dd3 starting at school a.

OriginalBlonde · 21/10/2016 20:51

It didn't affect ds when we moved him. Best thing we ever did.

OriginalBlonde · 21/10/2016 20:54

3as, beginning of your story was similar to ours. Looked around new school, decided we wanted to move ds and just went for it. Asked for a meeting with the head but she already new.

Original poster
Justjoseph · 21/10/2016 20:57

Lots of children move and adapt quickly, I'm not concerned about that too much.
Current school has lots of leavers/. New pupils so it's not unusual for them to move.

Current school has problems 😥 Too many problems.

OP posts:
JoJoSM2 · 21/10/2016 21:01

If they think that you're a pain, they'll probably do their best to help your child move :) I wonder if the form is there to make sure that your child has been attending and that there aren't any serious concerns + they will need information on how she's doing, any needs etc. Don't worry about it.

Believeitornot · 21/10/2016 22:11

I would tell an employer I was unhappy then I'd leave.

Are you worried that the school might make it difficult? Why would they ifyoure "a pain"?

They can't stop you moving.

spanieleyes · 22/10/2016 08:22

Why would a school be bothered whether you leave or not? Individual teacher's wouldn't-they get paid the same whether they have 30 children in a class or 29! The business manager might be a little peeved if you leave the day before census day but I'm sure they would soon get over it. The Head might be a little put out if half the school left, but one or two children here or there makes little difference. Most schools these days have a waiting list, as soon as one child goes, another one comes along!
The local authority can't insist that you speak to the current school before you find another but it just seems like good manners! Heads and Teachers at each school will talk to each other anyway, records will be passed along, admin staff will complete the transfer forms-and then another child arrives, it's really no big deal!

sparepantsandtoothbrush · 22/10/2016 08:24

The HT of DD's old school had to sign a part of the lea's form here too. I wasn't happy about it as I didn't know for certain if DD had a place at the school we wanted to move her to at the time (there was a space but obviously someone with higher priority could have jumped ahead of us while the paperwork was filed). But we didn't have a choice and it all worked out well in the end.

It is highly disruptive to a child's education to change schools. MASSIVE generalisation! My DD couldn't be happier and is flying compared to how she was at the old school

hels71 · 22/10/2016 08:44

It is highly disruptive to a child's education to change schools.

Moving DD was the best thing i have done in years and I wish I had done it ages ago. She is a different child now....I gave her old school far to many chances to sort things out..

Original poster
Justjoseph · 22/10/2016 08:54

I will call the LEA on Monday.

i think that it is wrong to have to tell current school. (. Without knowing we can move )

OP posts:
TeacherBob · 22/10/2016 09:39

Spaniel Of course teachers are bothered. We make close relationships with the children in our class and of course we don't want to see children leaving mid-year. From a selfish point of view, it is actually quite a lot of work for us, gathering books, filling our forms from the new school if requested, sending on data, not to mention all the work it takes to get a new person ready for the class, new books, tray labels, tick lists, assessing etc etc. I hate losing a child but I hate getting another one mid-year more. I am not saying don't move, just don't think for a second we don't care.

Justjoseph, whilst you don't HAVE to tell a head teacher before you move (though common courtesy would suggest it is a good idea to speak to the teacher), schools will talk to each other. They have to. It is a safeguarding issue to ensure children such as Victoria Climbie (sp?) don't get moved about and lost in the system. If it saves just one child, it is worth it.

(And if your child knows they are moving, they will tell friends/teacher for sure, so chances are if you have looked at another school, the teacher will already know. It is what children do)

spanieleyes · 22/10/2016 11:46

I might care for the children, but it doesn't bother me that children move on to other schools-perhaps years of teaching Y6 has had an influence!

Original poster
Justjoseph · 22/10/2016 12:21

I looked at the school a while back, so not a chance the head will know.

I don't really want to alert her to us moving if I haven't got an offer, or certainty that there are places iyswim.

I'm happy to tell her once I know places are available.

OP posts:
TeacherBob · 22/10/2016 12:41

As soon as anything is made official, they will know, whether you tell them or not.

Unoffically, if the schools are local, the heads may well have spoken when you looked round.

Who knows :)

Original poster
Justjoseph · 22/10/2016 16:43

I looked around before this head came into post.

I will push admissions to see if I can avoid it. I was hoping that someone would come along with "that's against the rules" - because it should be!

OP posts:
TeacherBob · 22/10/2016 16:45

Why should it be against the rules?

admission · 22/10/2016 21:39

Whether it is against the rules is rather dependent on exactly what the LA does. There is good reason why initially any parent should talk to the school and see whether the issues can be resolved but when the parent has gone past that point what they need is the easiest and most effective way of moving school.
A key paragraph of the school admissions guidance is paragraph 2.21 which included "Any parent can apply for a place for their child at any time to any school outside the normal admissions round. They can do this by applying directly to admission authorities, except where other arrangements are in place locally (e.g. the local authority co-ordinates all in-year admissions).
Regretably quite a few LAs have translated "co-ordinates all in-year admissions" into running a system that tries to stop parents moving without a great deal of hassle. To me as soon as the LA is saying that the current school has to be consulted about any move that the parent wants to make and especially if the head teacher of the current school has to sign acceptance of a move, that is going against the spirit of paragraph 2.21 that a parent can apply at an time to any school.
OP I would suggest you quote para 2.21 at them and say you want them not to contact your existing school and see what happens then.

Original poster
Justjoseph · 23/10/2016 08:47

Thank you addmission, that is exactly what they are doing. You apply for a move then they meet once a month to decide who moves.

As it is half term and I can't contact the head I will try quoting the paragraph to them.

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