In-Years Primary School Admissions

[babydad]

Would really appreciate some advice from others that have moved to a new area of the country and applied for in-year admissions.

We have one child at school age and they are going into Yr 2 in September, but it is likely we will be moving to a different part of the country at some point this academic year.
Reading the local authorities publication it says that offers have to be taken up within 10 days of being made.
How does that work with the inefficient process of buying and selling houses? Do you need to wait until you exchange on both houses before applying?
Cautious that there could quite easily be gaps in my DS attendance in that year if not a smooth transition.

I think you need to have a new address to apply. Not sure if exchange of contracts will be early enough.

But yes, it's never as quick as leaving the old school on a Friday and starting at the new one on a Monday. In some very busy/crowded areas of London, I've seen families waiting for a few weeks for a place to become available.

We moved DS in the holidays to give us a bit of leeway. We needed a confirmed address to prove we were in the area.

I think most authorities accept an exchange of contracts as sufficient to get the ball rolling with an application. However this doesn't mean that a place is necessarily available, and since your child will be Y2 the 30 class size limit will apply. I would check with the LA nearer the time to get a feeling for whether there are likely to be spaces available in your local schools.

When you are offered a place then most authorities do like the place accepted and the child attending quite quickly, from their point of view they don't want places blocked by non attending children in case other children come along needing a place. This becomes very critical near counting day when bums on seats means money in the bank! It can be a bit of a juggling act, with some lucky fairy dust thrown in. If you can plan your actual move near a school holiday it might give you a bit more flexibility in timing.

Good luck, I hope it all goes smoothly.

Here, you need to wait until exchange (or have a signed rental agreement) to apply for a place. Offer needs to be accepted within 10 days, and child needs to start within a week or two of acceptance. It's really hard tbh. Only exception is that from 1st July you can be offered a place for a September start.