Due to start reception in sept, moving areas in spring. Help me work this out!

[Anothernamebitesthedust]

My DC is due to start school in sept, deadline to apply is this week.

DH’s work means we will have to move quite some distance. We don’t know exactly when - May/June/July. Other than the schools issue, this is great need.

The area we are moving is very populated/popular. There are a number of schools we’d be happy with but they are all oversubscribed most years. We don’t yet have anywhere to live so I have to apply using our current address.

I’ve been told that we apply through our Local authority and they then deal with the local authority where we’re moving to. But given we’re 100+ miles away, we’re not realistically going to get a place.

Can someone help me work out how this is going to work?! I know someone has to give her a place...but who and where?!

So stressed about this - can anyone explain to me how it will work?

I meant great news - other than this complication the move is great news.

When you apply she will be offered a place where there is space.
It may not be the school you want but it will be a school.
Ask Admissions for a list of schools with spaces and research them

You can still remain on school waiting lists for a place at a school you really want.

But we have to apply now for a place for her in September. We’re are 100+ miles out of catchment at the moment...it’s not so much about getting a place at the schools we want, it’s about her getting a place at all in the place we have to move to.

I guess the question is: is the local authority of the area we’re moving under any compulsion to give her a place at all?

The key issue here is that all offers of places in schools are based on the address that the child spends most of their time at during the school week, as such that is your current local authority. If you apply for the new schools you have seen then as you say you apply to your current LA, they then pass it on and the new LA will consider whether they can allocate a place based on the distance criteria. Realistically in schools that are historically full, your chance of success using the current address is zero.
There is also another issue and that is whilst at present you have every intention of moving, my experience at appeal panels says that many parents fail to make the move or it takes a lot longer than is anticipated to complete .
For this reason I would suggest that you hedge your bets and put down as your third preference a school which is currently local to you and which you would if you are staying put expect to get a place at. Your first two preferences should be schools that are your preferred schools near to where you are moving to. Whilst it is an unlikely situation that you will be allocated a place at the new preferred schools, it does get you in line for a place.
On April 16th you will get allocated a place, which should be via your current LA. No matter what schools are allocated accept them so you have a fall back position for September. If the allocation is for schools near to where you are at present then you have protected yourself from the situation if you have not moved by September. If by some miracle it is near to where you are moving to, then you have till September to move.
Most likely from April onward you will be in a position of having a school place near to your present home and no place where you are moving to. Realistically you need to check what the new LA says about moving house and when they will accept an application. It is usually when you exchange contracts or when you have a rental agreement but some LAs are strict about applying the rule of only when the child has moved in to a home, especially in situations like yours. As soon as that situation happens you need to contact the new LA and request your preferred schools. Assuming they are full they will say no and allocate you a school which does have places. Any school you have applied for you can request going on the waiting lists and also appeal for a place. You do need to accept that in full schools that the chance at appeal is very low because the infant class size regulations trump all the reasons you can put forward for a place. You may need to accept because of you situation and the timing that you will need to accept a school that was not one of your preferences.
Assuming things work out and you do move, then you should make sure that you inform the current LA that you have moved and that you do not need to place offered, so that it can be offered to somebody else.

Thank you admissions, this is incredibly helpful.

@Anothernamebitesthedust we have just done this for DD. It was very stressful but we got through it (with a lot of help from the knowledgeable people on this board!).

DD started school near our previous home in September 2019 and we moved in mid-November. We then had to wait quite some time for her to be offered a place at her preferred school, and spent this time commuting her back to the old school (c.1 hour each way). This was not a fun period.

I think (though admission is the expert) that the LA will have to offer you a school place once you have moved into the area, but this may not be at one of your preferred schools. If you're able to move before the start of the school year I would think that you have a much better chance of getting a preferred place in time for September. There's a lot of movement on the waiting lists between April and September, especially if it's an area with plenty of private schools. You might consider renting somewhere very close to your preferred schools as this will bump up your 'distance' priority on the waiting list, even if this isn't going to be where you settle long-term. We were lucky in that we were around 200m from our preferred school, meaning that DD went straight to the top of the waiting list when we moved (no kids with SEN, LAC status or siblings on the list, or they would have taken priority over her).

If you move after the start of the school year (like we did) it might be a longer wait. You could contact the LA now and ask for some historic information on waiting lists, turnover etc - if they are anything like the one I moved into they won't want to give you this but you can get it through an FOI request, if all else fails. This will give you a sense of how long you might realistically have to wait for a place.

Also, as your child doesn't have to be in education until they are five you would have the option of sitting tight and waiting for a preferred place to come up, rather than putting them in a non-preferred school and then moving when a place becomes available.

One other thing - move as early as you can. There is often quite a lot of churn on school places in April / May when allocations are first announced compared to Jul / Aug. If you move very close to your preferred school then you might well jump straight to the top of the waiting list (assuming no other criteria such as faith)