Would we be nuts to move to an area with no school places?

[Dangit]

We are in a hard situation, we could soon be in the position of accepting a job meaning relocation to an area (long term dream area) that is pretty much full everywhere for primary school places. My partner has a 3 month notice period so we can’t just apply for places before accepting the job offer as you can only apply 8 weeks in advance.

We have three primary school children, which makes it way worse, as I fear we would end up with three different schools - if any!

Just typing this out makes it seem nuts to even consider it. I’m kinda hoping someone might have managed to pull this move off!

The LA has to offer you places, just not necessarily at schools of your choice or the same one. You may be able to appeal once you have one placed. How old are the dc?

You cannot pull this off where schools have no places. You will be around schools but they could be different schools or the “worst” school you would not be likely to choose yourself. Could you move in advance of DH and rent to get a base? Also talk to the LA Admissions team and see what they say about movement in schools and what might be possible. Hopefully it won’t be too bleak when you speak to them.

We relocated at both primary and secondary stages. Missed out on nearest schools but appealed twice and won twice so it is not all bleak.

I did this and I got a place at our catchment school in the end.

It really was in the end though as it was such a ridiculous process and my child had no school place at all for three and a half months which had a huge impact on her long term. And I don’t mean academically because you can do something about that at home. Socially she found it really hard.

It took an enormously lonfbtime because the LEA would tell me there was a place and I would apply through the applications process and then there wouldn’t be a place. Or I would ask the school if there was a place and they either wouldn’t tell me, or they would never return my calls or they would say there was one and then there would t be.

The LEA were beyond hopeless. Knew that they were supposed to provide her with a place but the reality was very different indeed.

Anyway I appealed for my catchment school on the grounds that it was my catchment school.

Look up fair access protocol on the local authorities websites/ask admissions about it.

They have to provide you with a school place and if no where within a set distance they can force a school to increase numbers. However each authority does it differently (one by us talks about anywhere in the county and another is within 3 miles).

Is home education an option until a school able to take all three is availabl?

Thanks for your replies. Kids are yr 1, yr 3, and yr 5.
I’ve spoken to some of the schools (mixed bag of helpfulness / rudeness), and the lea lots of times. It really depends who you speak to as to how much info they will give you.
I’ve tried to make it work moving there first but I don’t think it makes it any easier. We can’t move there without a job to go to.
I think it would end up being a case of pot luck, at the possible risk of my kids well beings. But the other side of this is we are afraid to take risks and live in this nice but rather dull town for the rest of our lives.

Can you move slightly further away from your job? Reality of getting 3 in the same school is tough. The fact 2 are juniors is far better than 3 infants

I would concentrate on getting the yr 1 into a school and then appeal to get the yr 3 in. The year 5 will be going to secondary in a year so concentrate on what secondary you want them to go to rather than them being in the same school as siblings.

It is very difficult for the LA if you are not the only family looking. They have to find you school places but they could be miles away from each other. Some people just won’t accept this and hold on for the catchment school. It’s rare there isn’t a space, anywhere, but it’s often not where the parent wants and they refuse it. If you can make use of any breakfast or after school clubs, you could make it work.

I work freelance from home so I don’t know if I could pull off homeschooling, and from SavoyCabbage said that is very worrying about dd finding it hard. What year was she in SavoyCabbage? Was it you that home schooled her?
I’ve looked at fair access protocol. You are only seemed a priority case if you’ve been out of school for two months or more (!) and if your home schooled in that time then that crosses you off! I suppose I could home school but rot register as home school though...
5 miles (45mins travel time) is the ‘usual’ distance the LEA states is acceptable. The schools all seem good within that area mind you.

Thanks Brie, that makes sense. My eldest has said he wouldn’t mind going to a different school and getting a taxi, he likes being a bit independent, so that’s a blessing. But my girls need to be together. So maybe if I look at it like that. The school I want does have a places in year 1. Before/after school clubs could help too.
I’m glad I posted this, it’s been really helpful.

She was in year four. She had no friends and no way of making them as she wasn’t at school. And too much time to think about the life he’d left behind.

She was doing after school activities and children would ask her what school she went to so she had to say she wasn’t at a school. I would take her out during the day and people would ask why when wasn’t at school in a nice chatty way and she wouldn’t what to say.

It was one of those situations where I couldn’t quite believe it was happening as it was happening. I knew they were suppose to give her a school place and Fair Access Protocol and all that jazz but it just didn’t work like that for me. They couldn’t care less that she didn’t have a place.

I wouldn’t say I home educated her, although I am a teacher so I could have. Certainly nobody official cared if she was being educated. That never came up. She did learn how to fill and sand a wall though!

Looking back I don’t know what I would have done differently. We would have still moved as that’s what needed to happen at that time. I have never heard of it happening to anyone else and I don’t think it’s the norm at all.

Wow, what a crazy situation. I think that sums up how little the government actually care about providing enough school places for children. I guess yours was worst case scenario and you at least managed to get through it. Do you think she is ok now? I totally worry about them changing school. Especially my middle daughter who has a super BFF. I worry it will scar her for life, it will definitely be hard for her, i’m Just hoping only short term. But still, feels such a risk.

Forget about Fair Access Protocol, it is meant for a narrow range of situations and you moving to another area is not likely to be sufficient grounds for that. You need to be thinking about the correct logistics of this and the previous comments about concentrating on your year 1 child is correct. Because of the infant class size regs, infant year places will always be far more difficult to win at appeal.
Whilst everybody might be telling you that there are no places in schools in the area you are moving to, that is not always the truth, places do become available or are made available.
As soon as you know you are moving and have an address you are moving to, you need to be applying for a place at the school you want for your year 1 child. If there is still a place then that will be given to you and you can tick one off the list of problems. I would then ask for places for both the other two children, assuming that the school will be full and that you will be rejected. Start pestering the admission office of the LA for an answer and as soon as you get the response of no the school is full, you launch appeals for the places and also ask to be put on the waiting list for the school. You should also at this time tell the LA that you need then to give you places for the two children and see what they come up with. If they don't come up with anything realistic then that is going to help you in winning at appeal.
You also need to be talking all the time to the school office so that you learn of any pupils who might be leaving the school. In terms of a waiting list, many schools do not keep such a list now, some have what they call expressions of interest logs but you need to be absolutely talking to the school to find out what is going on and how you would get a place at the school.

We did this and got both children into our first choice school but it was looking like 2 different schools both over 10 miles away until a few days before. It helps to be as close as you can to the school you want but still takes luck. When we moved we went straight to 1 on the lists as we were very close so was just a matter of waiting for people to leave.

Thanks so much guys. It’s so good to hear other people’s experiences. ‘Admissions’ That’s really helpful, thank you.
I have been talking to a couple of the school but that’s a good suggestion about asking for potential leavers. One of the schools doesn’t hold a list and the lady was so rude on the phone, I felt like I was begging for scraps! I think it’s going to take a thick skin. It’s so damn difficult to relocate! I have though discovered that even from 200 miles away they have to offer you a place if there is one. I just wish they could hold it longer. I think I might contact my fave school again and ask if they could extend the offer of the place as usual time is to take up a place within 2 weeks of allocation.