Moving house when DD starts reception in September

[Spanneroo]

I am really struggling to get my head around where on earth to start in this situation, so I'm hoping someone knowledgeable can help me.

DD is 4 (summer baby) and has a school place local to where we currently live, starting in reception class in September.

I am splitting with OH, which would mean moving to a different county (to live with my mum until DD2 qualifies for her free nursery place due to finances). It is not possible for me to move out of the current house, but stay within in our current area as rent prices are prohibitive, given the large childcare bill for both DDs.

Where do I start with getting a school place for DD1 in the area we will be moving to? I expect local schools to be oversubscribed, but I don't know what that actually means for us and what I need to do/who I need to speak to/when I need to do it etc.

(Home educating doesn't seem feasible because DD2 is a very demanding baby, and I wouldn't be able to work and help my mum out financially if I am at home educating DD)

I hope I've given enough info but happy to answer any questions.

You need to call the schools closest to your Mum's as a first step. They will be very informative and will let you know about your chances.

Oh and you will also need to provide proof that you're living at your Mum's. It will need to be offical proof such as a bill from the Electric or gas and usually they want to see you on the council tax bill too.

Thank you. Will the council issue a new statement once we declare I'm living there? Currently mum only gets a statement once a year and that's obviously just passed.

I'm presuming my name would need to be on a bill too for it to count.

It depends how full the schools near your mum are. We did something similar for different reasons. Call the local authority and find out which schools have spaces in the area as a starting point. I changed the address on my driving license before we even moved, but as the local school was under-subscribed I'm not sure anyone even checked. Good luck!

I would second picking up the phone and calling the admissions team. When we were moving they were v helpful indeed.

Get onto the Electoral Roll as soon as you move. Also change your address on anything like bank account, subscriptions, government departments and personal memberships. This should be acceptable proof of address. Council tax and utility bills are only one form of proof, but you can alter utility bills to be in joint names easily.

I agree you need to contact the Local authority where you are moving to. They may not have space in a local school, but you should be given a school. You can go onto waiting lists for preferred schools. Its very difficult organising all of this, so good luck.

Change your government documents addresses as a priority. Tax credits, child benefits, driving license.
Also bank statements. If you can change your DD address (tax credits, bank account, maybe a prescription if you change doctors?) then these are the necessary address documents you will need. Sit with your mum and register her for online council tax bill then get them to email out a new bill with your name on.

Phone the local schools and ask if they were full on their allocations from the council.
Also call the council and ask to be added to the wait list for all local schools.

Don't worry. ! That task is very important. X

I did this after I split from DH1. I called the schools admissions team in my soon-to-be new town. They told me exactly what I'd need to submit and by when. They could also tell me the current subscriptions to the schools.

I was applying to a v oversubscribed secondary for DS1 to start in year 7. I had to be living at the new address at the time the applications were actually counted and decided, which was around 2-3 months after the actual application deadline. As I was moving to my parents house, I couldn't get proof of moving so they accepted a letter from my parents.

It was stressful but worked out fine!

Good luck, OP.