Is this fraud and what to do.

[froggola]

Please no judgement. DH and I have been living apart for a couple of years but still together. Me and kids will move back into with him in September.
When applying for reception place I put his address as our main residence. I also didn’t say DS goes to nursery. As the nursery he goes to would prove that my house not in the borough is his main residence. I know that is wrong but I made the decision in a moment when filling in the form….Ds got offered a place and now school want a home visit. It’s feeling really stressful. What’s the plan? To go there and fake I already live there? Withdraw the application? It’s making me feel uneasy. I’d appreciate honest advice. I wasn’t intentionally deceitful, but I was. by omitting information and lying about my address. …which will be my address by September. If it makes any difference I’m on the deeds and have owned the house got a decade…

Sherbsy Thank you, thank you for introducing me to a perfect word 'fraudy' a little bit under the table but won't topple Governments. I will be using that in the future. Thank you.

I might be out of touch here due to my age and having adult grown up children, but why on earth does the Nursery want to do a home visit???

It's not the nursery, it's a home visit by a teacher from the primary school that the OP's DC will be attending from September. Common in some areas, not in others (our DC started in reception 23, 20 and 18 years ago, no home visits from their school and if anyone did visit nurseries, where DC attended them, they probably passed on that for us, because they attended a private day nursery near to DH's workplace 10 miles away). These visits are for familiarisation purposes and take place by appointment at 'normal' times of the day.

Visits to Investigate possible address fraud usually happen without warning, and e.g. at breakfast or bedtime.

Hi OP as of September which is presumably when he starts you won't be lying and that will be your main residence. I would go ahead and arrange the visit and explain to them you are moving full time from September.

You certainly shouldn't expect your child to lie as well. I sincerely hope you wouldn't want them growing up thinking that being dishonest is a good thing.

No not in the same place.

It may not be exactly truthful, but it's not like you've put a random house that you have no connection with or it's a crime of the century. Just put some toys in the living room and do the home visit. It's your house and you will be living there by the start of school, end of!

The rules are different for Military children though, you are allowed to apply from out of area for schools in any LEA.

Don't see what the problem is. Its not like you have used a distant relative or friends address.

Only once we have an address assigned.
I've worked in education for 9 years and so longs you have an address you can apply to a school in that catchment area (sorry I should have probably said this in previous post)

It's in place so anyone relocated can access education. As OP has an address they are relocating to they are entitled to placement

agree just move in ahead of the home visit. Least then you can relax.

Nobody is saying she is not entitled to a place but that place has been allocated based on an address that her child does not live at.
Depending on the LEA policy that COULD be seen as fraudulent.
I work with people moving areas/countries and advise on school applications. You can apply from any UK address, its about your priority for applications and its not unknown for a parent to apply using an address they/the child does not live at to secure a place when they would not have got it from their actual address.

Of course it is that’s why u asked!

Home visit may well be because when the council have done their own cross checking anomolies came up.
Technically it is a criminal offence to defraud to obtain a school place which means the powers to check using cross referencing with credit ref agencies, NHS etc much greater.
If you are still together Q going to be why did you live apart . So a credible explanation needs to exist.
May need to evidence what you have done to start the move back . Unclear why you cant go back July for eg when school ends.
Going to look contrived because it is but you may have to think about getting legal advice from specialists who do appeals etc before home visit. If they believe you've been deliberately deceitful they can remove the offer.

I have never heard of a school doing a home visit. Is this normal in the UK. I don't think anyone in New Zealand would even tolerate such an invasion of privacy. They just need your address, surely. Your home is none of their business.

@SweetnsourNZ the visit is to enable the teacher to meet the child. Many such visits happen at nurseries or day care, but the OP omitted her son’s nursery from the information (deliberately)

Home visits are a normal part of welcoming children to primary school in the UK. The visit is for the teacher to meet the child on home territory before starting school. You can decline the home visit if you don’t want to have one but it’s nothing to do with where you live or checking your address.

Yes it’s totally normal. It’s a great opportunity for the teacher to meet your child in their own environment. The teacher can then see if the child is behaving differently in school and can offer support if needed. It makes starting school less scary for the child as they’ve already met the teacher and already had a 1-1 with them.

Am a Londoner and fully aware of the process.
Home visits arent the norm in most of England.
Most councils now contract agencies such as Experian to run applications through to spot fraud. Then only home visit if suspicion. Because that's way more cost effective.
Postcode lottery maybe but personally would want to be prepared

?

You don't seem aware of the process and still seem to be saying home visits are about checking address fraud rather than meeting the child and getting background details.

Our school, in London, visits students to get them familiar with a member of staff, to discuss any additional needs and the child's interests and strengths. We offer this to all parents. These visits are needed since the decline in early support for parents of toddlers. Our staff often pick up needs on these short visits where none have been highlighted by health visitors.

Erm I don’t think this is a big deal he has two homes essentially. Just be there for the appointment.

If parents are divorced then you have to use the address where the child lives on school days.
If it’s 50/50 then usually it’s the address of the parent that claims Child Benefit or the address that the GP has.
Some school are oversubscribed so if someone uses an incorrect address then another child is forced to go to a different school.

OK, so re home visits...

Teacher home visits are absolutely about meeting the child, and in 99% of cases that's all they are. I have, however, once or twice had a teacher report back after a home visit to the school office person who looks after admissions that they were suspicious that the child didn't actually live there. The school admissions person (ie me) would then have a look at the bigger picture (address evidence etc) and decide whether to report to the LA, who would pick it up if need be

Totally separately, LA staff sometimes do a door knock as part of their investigation into possible address fraud. This has nothing at all to do with the teacher home visit process.

I'm assuming that the OP's visit is a teacher one, because I very much doubt that an LA address check visit would be announced.

It doesn’t sound like they are divorced though given the OP is moving back in? She owns the house ( possibly jointly with her dh).

Councils are often trying to catch people the opposite way from the op who move out the marital home but don’t divorce/ still own it and rent / buy somewhere else close to a school.

OP is then screwed either way. I’d argue that the marital home is main residence and other property temporary residence. Lots of councils hsve said the same when declining applications from people who have a main residence elsewhere. For consistency they should accept the marital home as primary residence surely?

These are 2 different processes and no , not every local authority even 'offers' a home visit to undertake what you describe. Doesn't matter what good practice might be.
I speak with current in yr lived experience in London . Plus the previous school yr. Across 4 different London boroughs.

The only child in our family offered the home visit as a get to know session had an EHCP.
What every single local authority does do however is actively screen for fraud because it is a statutory duty to do so as it is a criminal offence to commit fraud to get a school place.
Every LA has a dedicated education fraud team, IT programmes to screen for anomalies and contracts with firms such as Experian who specialise in fraud data. Every LA shares a nationwide database plus has legal rights of access into other records, public and private.
In 2025 they don't need covert surveillance or unannounced visits.
If suspected an appt is made for a home visit as by that stage data is to hand.
Given the OPs own voiced concerns about how current living arrangenents might be interpreted seems like a good idea they understand what could happen.
So, yes. I do understand the processes.