Moving house but had to apply for schools for Sept help!

[foggymummy]

Hi, I'm in the middle of a divorce and I'm potentially moving area closer to my parents in the next few months. I've had to apply for schools near where I am now as my little one is due to start in sept. If I move after april when the offers have been given what is the process? Do I accept a place near my current address and then ask for a transfer? If the schools in the new area are oversubscribed how far away could she be put? Would it still have to be in the catchment area or could it be anywhere? Anyone been through similar? Xx

If you haven't moved before April then yes accept the place offered for the application made from your current address.

As soon as you have a new address, submit an application with the new local authority.

If you're in England, most schools don't have 'catchment areas', spaces are allocated by criteria eg siblings, medical or social need, looked after children, distance until all places are filled.

Popular schools can have very small intake areas, while less popular schools can be undersubscribed.

So how far away the school could be is impossible to answer until you have an address. If allocated on distance, the LA will offer the nearest school with a place available.

Something similar happened to a friend of mine. She moved in June and there were two schools with places fairly near. She choose one of them, put her child's name down for a closer school that she preferred, and moved her in Y1 when a place became available.

Ok thanks for that, makes sense. I'm just feeling completely overwhelmed by everything, divorce, moving house, starting school, and then having to potentially move schools. Just feel it's going to be such a lot. Guess I'll just have to ride it out xx

Yes, it all sounds extremely stressful for you.

The only way to manage the school situation is one step at a time. There's nothing else for you to do about that, other than accept whatever place you're offered if you haven't moved by April, until you have a new address.

If you do move before allocations day, you can make a late application to the LA that you've moved into.

If you know which one it's likely to be, you could call them before and ask at what point they'll accept a new address eg rental agreement/exchange of contracts date, or do you physically have to have moved in.

Take care, it will sort itself out somehow, even if it doesn't feel like it will at the moment. Look after yourself.

Thanks for your advice, yes i can only do one day at a time so fingers crossed it will all sort xx

I know someone who applied for a school in the area they were hoping to move to and they were offered a place but I know they were very stressed that they would be without a place. As soon as you know where you will be I would contact school admissions in that LA to apply.
In our area we do have catchment areas.
Best of luck

Thank you Bluewater I will do. Just need to make some decisions!! Xx

We moved house just after the cut off, but they had a second internal cut off at the council in the new area (while they were allocating I suppose?), however we didn’t move soon enough.
What they did was let us apply for a place with our address, even though it was another county entirely (6 hours away!) and we got our second choice.
It’s worth contacting the council you are moving to, as the two we were between had totally different ways of doing things and the new one was much more helpful.

Just to add we updated our address as soon as we moved and could have appealed for our first choice, which was closer to our house. Turned out the ‘second choice’ was actually a much nicer school with Good rather than Outstanding,

Oh ok that's interesting. I dont actually the know the area for definate yet but once i do Ill contact them straight away. Thank you x

@thehorseandhisboy of course schools in England have catchment areas!
They do where I am anyway and the criteria is usually
1.looked after children
2.Siblings in catchment
3.Others in catchment
4.Siblinfs out of catchment

1. Others out of catchment

If you go on your LEA website you'll be able to look up the admissions criteria and catchment area for whichever school you want to.

Heckythump1 they don't have catchments where I live. It's looked after, social or medical need, siblings then other applicants by distance.

No set areas.

Some schools have formal catchment areas (often called priority admission areas or similar) but thehorseandhisboy is correct to say that most don't.