School admissions

[SVKH]

Hi guys, just need some advice. I’m in the process of applying for a reception class placement for my child. We currently live in London with my parents but will move to the midlands at the end of July next year. My child is currently attending a nursery in London. We bought a house there and are currently doing it up. We’re not renting it out and we are paying council tax and utility bills. Basically we’re paying all bills associated to that house. On the placement application do I put my London address or the midlands address seeing as when my child starts in September next year we will be living there? Also if I put my London address as my current address and I mention we will move by end of July, does my child have less chance of getting a placement at a midlands school?

You have to apply under your current address which your bills are associated with. You are obviously way out of catchment for the Midlands school you want, so won't get in if they are oversubscribed, but it's pointless applying in London if you know you'll be in the Midlands for sure by then.

Apply, see what you get, and if you don't get any of the schools you want you reassess and ask the local authority which schools in the area have space. You never know, you may get lucky as birth rates are falling so lots of schools are under subscribed in Reception these days.

We live with my parents so we don’t have any bills registered in our names apart from mobile contract bill. All bills registered in our names are for the house in the midlands.

I don't know then to be honest. You don't actually live there yet, so it could still be seen as a fraudulent application until you can actually prove you are living there.

Hopefully someone else who knows better will be along soon but it seems risky to me list that as your address when you don't currently live there as that's the kind of actions people get done for.

Is your council tax bill showing the property unoccupied (to get a reduced rate) since you’re not living there? If so, that might be a red flag. Are there any questions about your child's current nursery in the application? (It's been so long since we applied, I can't remember what they ask.) Tbh I think it might be harder to prove you live in London right now given you only have one bill with that address. I remember having to provide at least two, council tax bill being an important one.

The way I see it you own a house in the midlands which you are paying bills on. There is no way you could commute from London to the school every day. The house is being renovated with the intention of living there by July.

I would contact admissions and clarify what you need to provide to them, if anything, but I would not give any details about your child, just a general question about admissions. Lots of schools do not require any checks to be done. Essentially if they have a place for everyone who applies no checks needed at all. If it is oversubscribed then they might do more checks but not necessarily for all applicants. Not all children attend a preschool nursery due to the limited hours they are open and term time only.

We pay full council tax for the property.

You put the midlands house. You own it, you are paying council tax there, it’s not being rented out. How else would you expect to get a place at a school near where you live for your daughter?

It should be the address where the child lives at time of application. Where do you have child benefit registered, gp etc? The actual definition of the relevant address will be on the LA website. You can use the London address and list schools elsewhere, although if the school is oversubscribed distance may be used as a tiebreak criteria and your dc not be close enough to be allocated a place.

Put the midlands house. You can prove ownership, it'll be fine.

Where is your daughter registered with a GP? That's the deal breaker in our Local Authority. We had a disputed address last year and it was resolved by the address registered at the GP. You'll be amazed what information an LA can get access to!

Ignore those who say you can safely put the midlands house as your address. Without knowing which LA is involved, it is impossible to be sure. It depends on the LA's rules. However, most will not accept an address unless you are actually living there. The fact you own it is not enough for most LAs. If you break the LA's rules, any place offered can be taken away even after your daughter starts school.