Moving schools when just started?

[Apricotafternoon]

My eldest child starts reception tomorrow. We've seen a house 10 minutes away with huge potential that we're going to view. It has a great school on the same road as the house.

I'm torn about moving her from the school she's just about to start and any friendships she'll make, to move her to a new school.

I'm wondering if moving her as soon as we can is better for her continued school journey. We'd obviously need to be in the new house to be in the catchment for the new school and there has to be the space as well. Maybe it's best to let her see out reception at her current school and start year 1 at the new school? My youngest would be starting pre school when my eldest starts year 1 so could move them both at the same time.

I feel incredibly guilty making more changes but long term I think it'll be better to move her sooner while she's more adaptable to change than later down the line, but I feel guilty. Maybe I feel worse because she's literally starting reception this week and we've worked together for ages getting ready for the change.

Alternatively, I can drive the 10 minutes to keep her at the same school and not move her and start my youngest at the same school but a lifestyle of walking to school would be ideal. Plus if she goes to the new local primary she'll potentially be moving to the local secondary with her friendship group when the time comes.

If it doesn't work out with this house, it's an area we would like to move to we just didn't envision it being so soon. But is it best to commit to wanting to move there to move sooner than later for the school reasons?

It's a lot of change and upheaval again when just starting a school tomorrow if a big change in itself.

I would appreciate any advice.

One step at a time. You haven't even viewed the house.

If you do move there, I would move your daughter to the local school.

You haven't even viewed the house yet so I really wouldn't worry about schools and stuff just yet. Even if you love the house it could take months to sort everything and actually move so it seems very premature to be thinking of moving her to another school already.

Let your child start school moving house could take months even if it all goes to plan.

We were moving 80 miles away but the completion date kept changing and eventually we moved 4 weeks after my twins started reception, then there was no school place for a while after we moved. The twins were fine.

Dont stress about it and take each step as it comes.

You haven't viewed the house yet. if you like it, it will be a long time before you move. If you move and there is no space in the other school, it could be 3 years before you can get a place there (the Infant Class Size law applies until y3).

However if you do buy that house there's really no problem moving her. Children adapt very easily. I went to a different reception before starting y1 at another school and then was in yet another for y3-y6 because my parents had to move regularly for my dad's job. It was never particularly traumatic and I made friends at each school.

Can you be sure the school has a place? Giles Coren wrote years ago about how he couldn’t get his children into the primary school on his road.

I agree with taking one step at a time. Once you've moved you will have been able to see what her current school is like and whether she'd be better off staying there because she's so happy and it's such a great school or whether being able to walk to school and going on to the same secondary will still be more important. DS was very shy and would have hated changing schools and would have really struggled with it so it depends on the personality of the child some what too.

Take a breath!
Let your child have their moment starting school tomorrow, nothing will change there.
See how the house viewing goes, see how this school goes, if they love it then 10 minutes would be fine to commute to. See what the new school is like, what waiting lists are like. Little one getting a place there would bump up the elder one if needed.

But tomorrow is about your child

Thank you all, I was feeling very overwhelmed and thinking too far ahead. I do over think, which is probably very clear in my post! Like you've all said, one step at a time. X

If you buy the house the school might not even have a place.

How do the in year moves work? Do I need to ask the school if they have a place or is it through the council?

Local authority.

We moved across the county when dd had just started year 1. We contacted the LA, we filled in the form with our school preferences and they let us know which a schools has places, neither of the 3 closest schools we put down did, but there was space in one a mile away. Then we applied through them (we were just renting at that point but actually moved to the road her school is on when we bought a year later, so it turned out well!)

I had a smiliar dilemma when my child started reception. Our house sale ended up taking 9 months and that was after the chain was together!

Let her start school, focus on it being 'her school' (if you talk to her about moving down the line you might stop her from settling properly)

View the house, and take that step by step, its all hypothetical right now anyway!

You need to check the LA website and the school's admissions policy for the relevant academic year of entry (so the 2025 / 2026 one for a potential move before next July, 2026 / 2027 one for a move into year 1). This will detail how mid-year applications are dealt with. In some, possibly most, areas, all mid-year applications are coordinated by the LA, but in others, the LA only handles applications for the schools for which it is the admission authority (community / VC) and academies / VA schools etc must be applied to individually.

You can certainly ask the school whether there are places in the relevant year group, but even if the answer is yes at that specific time, the place cannot be yours unless and until you have made a formal application (and someone else may have beaten you to it by then, which is one of the reasons why some schools are rather cagey about answering the 'Do you have a place?' question).

Is she summer born? You could take her out and reapply for starting in foundation September 2026.

Even if it were to go through smoothly you are looking at Christmas to move. There may or may not be a space at local school at that point, so dc may be on a waiting list until you have to decide. Probably not worth borrowing worries just yet.