Primary school allocation, new address and waiting lists

[Timeforaverynicecupoftea]

In January we applied for a primary school place in the area we want to live. We knew that we might get lucky and be allocated one of our six picks despite our current address, but we fully expected not to. The plan was to buy a new house and then go on the waiting list with this new local address.

Then corona happened!

We are at the very last stage of the buying process.

I understand that there is a two-week period between offers being made and places being accepted/rejected. If we do manage to complete in those few weeks would we be able to ‘update’ the system with the new address? Or is there no point in rushing it as nothing would be done in those two weeks anyway?

Thanks

Once the initial allocations go out there is a period where everybody is accepting or declining the offer and therefore nothing visually happens. However behind the scenes the LA admission team will be working away trying to update all the computer records confirming acceptances and declines. The other major thing they will be doing is starting to put together the waiting lists for schools as parents request to go on waiting lists or the LA automatically puts parents on waiting lists because they did not get their first preference. How this happens does vary from LA to LA.
Part of the waiting list will be all those who applied late or changed their preferences late and were not considered in the initial allocations. So whilst you might have been 31st on a list for a single form entry primary school, so in theory first on the waiting list, you might well go down the waiting list as more and more parents request to go on a waiting list, who have a higher priority than you.
There will come a point at which the LA start to fill up places in school caused by parents declining the place, which is normally 2 to 3 weeks after the 16th April allocations. It is in the LA's interest to start that process as soon as practical, so it is in your interest to get your new address recorded as soon as is practical by the LA because that will affect your place on the waiting list for the school. What you need to do is confirm with the LA exactly what information the LA will need to be able to register your new address. If you are literally in the process of moving then the LA may accept a solicitors confirmation of a move date and that you have completed. Again different LAs have slightly different thresholds, so some will not accept the new address until you have in effect moved and can present evidence of moving.
It is in your interest to register your new address with the LA as soon as is possible, even if they will not formally accept until specific information is confirmed. This is because if you are forced into an appeal situation the date you were able to confirm the new address to the LA becomes important in potentially arguing that the LA did not put you on the waiting list as soon as is reasonable and therefore potentially causing you maladministration. That is just forward planning at this stage, hopefully you will be at the top of the waiting list and get an offer of a place at a preferred school.

Realistically, there is much longer than that - even if parents fail to respond by any "deadline", admission authorities must take steps to communicate with them to get a response rather than simply saying "you didn't get back to us, so we have taken the place away."

Some parents will respond immediately, some will forget, some will deliberate as they also hold a private school offer.

In practical terms, I would get your proof of address to the new admissions authority as soon as you can, so you are on the relevant waiting lists as soon as they are compiled. This is unlikely to happen for a few weeks, but this will at least get you into the system to get an offer of something.

Thanks, helpful as always.

We were in the same situation 2yrs ago. Applied using old address in new area (waiting for a new build to be built) and got 4th choice school out of 4 (only one with places) went on waiting list and were 8th. Moved to new area in June, updated address and went to 1st on the list.

However this never moved but actually we have been extremely happy with the school we ended up with, so much so im hoping dd will get a place on thurs!

Hope you get the outcome you want.