In-Year school transfer advice

[Ang31a]

Can someone please advise me?

We live in an area in a London borough which only has two 'good' secondary schools. We are therefore planning to move to a different London borough which has at least 2 outstanding and 3 good schools in the area that we can afford to buy a house in (trust me, this is not the best area in the new borough, but just an OK area with good state and outstanding schools).

The issue is my DS and DD are currently in years 4 and 3 in primary school. We are unsure whether to move next year, for in-year transfers when DS and DD will be in years 6 and 5 or wait until DS moves to secondary school (we have our sights on an outstanding school in the area). The thinking behind both of them moving primary schools at the same time, is that they are both very close and can support each other through the transition of moving to a new school and a new area. However, although DS starting afresh in secondary school will be fine (he is quite resilient), not having a familiar face around and changing primary schools on her own, will be challenging for DD.

As we will like to be chain-free when we purchase a new house and will need to do more research in the new area, we shall like to first rent a flat, secure a school before purchasing a house.

For the adults, the move does not affect my commute to work however, it will add a 15 minute journey for my husband. We will definitely be downsizing when we rent or buy and are prepared to add value and put in the hard work for a new property (we have done this before).

Is there anything that I should consider in addition to this or has anyone had a similar experience? Thank you in advance for your help.

There are a number of things to consider. The most important is the timing of any moves, especially for your eldest child. The first consideration is whether by remaining where you are you would get into the outstanding secondary school that you have decided is your preferred school. You would be applying in September 2021 for entry in September 2022 and I would suggest that if it is an outstanding school, then it will be popular and there is a significant chance you will not get a place offered if you have not moved into the immediate area around this school.
So for me you should move now whilst both children are in primary school.
If you are going to rent when you move you need to understand the way that the LA think and how the admission arrangements work in applying for secondary school. If your eldest child is in year 5 in September 2020 then you will need to apply for a place at secondary school between September 2021 and the end of October 2021 to be considered an on-time application. The places are offered on 1st March 2022. If you are in rented property when you apply and then change to purchasing a property anytime from when you apply to after 1st March 2022 or potentially even 1st September 2022 then your application will be queried as being a deliberate attempt to be at an address to get you into the secondary school and then moving to a new more permanent address. You simply should not put yourself into that position, even though there might be no intention to mislead - LAs have too many cases of this happening and will take a negative view until you can prove the opposite.
In my opinion you should move into rented property and not move from there to a permanent bought address until at least September 2022, that is when eldest has started at secondary school or you make very certain that you have moved into your permanent purchased home before September 2021.
If you move when both children are in primary school then they will be able to get a place at a primary school near to your preferred secondary school and in my opinion be much less traumatic a move for your children. It will also allow your eldest some time to get a new circle of friends to minimise the subsequent move to a secondary school, which should not be underestimated in terms of upset.

Thank you so very much for your advice!

Presumably you need to seek your current house before you can afford to rent so you wouldn't want to leave doing that too late in case it takes ages and you hit the secondary application window. If you get on with it this year you might even have time to find and buy your permanent t hosue before applying
You definitely don't want to end up re tint while you still one in London's during the application process as that throws up all sorts of red flags

As long as you sell your existing house and rent a flat you’ll be fine. Some LAs don’t look favourably at parents keeping their property and just renting a flat in a preferred catchment as that’s obviously fishy.

I’d probably just bite the bullet and move now. No point in leaving it till the last minute is case your house sale falls through/sth else happens.

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/

Have a look at that website too. Ofsted ratings are often years old so it’s good to see how schools are performing for some more up-to-date insight. When you look at Ofsted reports, look at the individual sections: schools might have a different overall grade but the same one for their quality of teaching for example.

Ime with in year transfers, most schools are full to bursting. You’ll get whichever school the LA put you in.

So you may end up with a shitty primary in the arse end of the borough.

It needn’t be a disaster when it comes to transfers. In my borough most schools are fab so there always tend to be spaces in one desirable school or another. However, it does get tricky if you want both children in the same school as they don’t often have availability across many year groups.