School places mid year

[bluebird3]

We are planning to move after April sometime. I have a 4 year old due to start reception in September. My friends have said if we move during term time schools hold back a couple places for people who move into catchment mid year. Is this true? Would we be better moving after September if going into an oversubscribed area?

The short answer is no. LAs might have a few places for in year transfers but they are unlikely to be in the over subscribed schools.

Move before sept and then you're further up the waiting lists if needs be.

Schools do not hold back places.

if you're planning to move in April, it may be worth applying now, with your current address, and you'll be treated as a late admission. If you move after September, you will have to make an in-year admission.

I'd personally say you'd be better moving asap so you can get on waiting lists before your child starts school. Although you should be aware, that if you're moving into an oversubscribed area, you may not get your choice of school regardless.

No they don’t hold places it’s first come first served so even if X has space another family may move in and you’ll lose out.

Better to move as soon as you can and get in the waiting lists.

Thanks, everyone. It's as I suspected. Thought that sounded too good to be true! My husband's temp contract is ending and he is currently applying for a permanent role that he is (hopefully) likely to get. But we can't get a bigger mortgage until then so so earliest we can realistically look for the next house will likely be March/April. Such bad timing with school applications!

A school may have a place but they won’t hold it back. In an oversubscribed school if you can’t get there before the application deadline try to get there before September as many others will be trying to move out before then and that’s your best chance of places becoming available. They will probably be done in order of, kids in care, kids with statement, siblings, distance.

They definitely don’t hold back places here and the waiting lists for the local schools can be huge (think 30/40+) so you pretty much never stand a chance of getting a place.

Waiting list isn’t held in order of when you join though, it’s held in admissions order. So if you move close to the school you want then you may well jump to the top of the waiting list and get a place

Schools do not hold places for imaginary children. And where schools do try to do this, they lose on appeal and have to allow the places to be filled by those that apply and are at the top of the waiting/application list.

It's first come first served.

I wouldn’t say March/April is a bad time actually because families may be deciding to move around that time in advance of the next academic year, therefore creating a space for your child! Having said that one of my kids has been waiting almost a year for a place at my other child’s school and no place has come up yet 😩

The answer is no, it's chance if there are spaces. I've been there, it's not easy but you have to be patient and they will get you a space somewhere

Interesting to know moving physically closer to the school might help with a waiting list. Something to think about when we are looking. It seems like we might have to stay relatively close to our current area. The thing is I actually really like our current area and catchment school but there aren't many bigger houses around here and we really need more space.

You need to look at the schools’ admission policies to see whether it will benefit you. Some have catchment as fairly low down the criteria. The local secondary school here never gives a place out to someone just because they live in the catchment area. You have to either already have a child there, work there, or be coming from a feeder school to have a chance of getting a place.