Do we have to have an address in the LA to apply for a school transfer?

[Aeiou90]

Good morning,

I would be very grateful for any advice or confirmation if this is correct procedure for school transfers...

We are moving from one LA to another- just over an hour's drive away. I know school places will be an issue, but we don't mind a short drive, and I would be perfectly happy with academy/faith school/local community primary. This is for KS1 so I'm aware of class size limit and I'm not limiting our choice down to 1 or 2 schools only.

The new area straddles two LAs; one LA is in a slightly preferred area for us for family support areas, but both LAs are pretty popular for school places in general. Our preferred area LA have said they can't process my application until we have a permanent address within that LA, which isn't the same info as we have been told from the other LA.

I would like to be able to go on the waiting list for a handful of schools, wait until a place comes up, accept it and then move to start say 4 weeks later. We don't need to have found a permanent home as we could move relatively quickly and stay with in-laws who already live in the area and are happy to house us temporarily while our new house sale goes through, wherever that is.

The other issue is we could find that due to school place availability and the LA border, our new home might end up being in one LA with the nearest available school place in the other, which would mean we would never get an address in the LA.

Can anybody tell me-
Can I put my child on the waiting list for a school before we have confirmation of a new home address within the LA?

Can I put my child on the waiting lists for schools in two different LAs?

How long do you usually have to take up a school place once it is offered to you? I'm guessing 4 weeks or so? Or is it more usual to ask you to wait until the next term starts?

Many thanks for any advice- this feels so tricky!

Waiting lists are ordered by how well you fit the criteria, nit how long you have been waiting.

As you are an hour's drive away, it is quite possible that you will never be at the top of the waiting list, except for schools which are chronically undersubscribed.

Once a place is offered we expect the child to start the following week. We had a child apply on Friday, we accepted the place and they started Monday. We would not accept a delay of 4 weeks, it could mean someone else missing out.

You apply to LA in which you live, not where the school is. So if you move to A, you apply to A for schools in A&B. Or if you move to B, you place the application through them.

Thank you, it makes more sense now :)

That's not true everywhere though. In our LA, you apply direct to the school - the LA is not involved. You can apply using any UK address - but obviously the further away it is, the less likely you are to be high on the waiting list! But if there's a space available it has to be offered to you, even if you live 500 miles away. But if you're offered a place, you have to accept it within two weeks, and you have to start your child attending within another week or two after accepting. So you need to be in a position to move pretty immediately.

I think that might be what one LA was getting at here, thanks for that. I couldn't work out if it's the same everywhere or not.

6 weeks where I am.