Moving to the South West or South Wales before and choosing schools!

[OutnumberedKitten]

Hello!

Does anyone have any experience of moving before the start of school?? We are looking to relocate from the M25 area to somewhere rural in the South West England or South Wales.

My DH works remotely, I am the stay at home mum but also a crafter and artist (in my spare time), we have a therapy dog for my autism and 3 young ones all under the age of 4..... Our current rental situation means that we can't move until after Christmas, but we do have the luxury of not being kicked out as we rent from family. Our real rush and cause of panic for me, is that our eldest starts primary in September and I have no idea how we navigate getting him into any school when we are moving across the country.

As I mentioned, I am autistic and I am getting really worked up about how mad the current rental market is, esspecially because I have a therapy dog and the other things I need to consider like noisy neighbours etc. Tbh I am starting to feel a bit discriminated against because we have our dog and three small kids and so many landlords say no to one or the other.

I want my son to start a school that we have at least seen and been able to discuss his own needs with. Does anyone have any words of wisdom as to how getting him into a school works, if we don't move before the Jan cut offs. I'm really scared of moving somewhere in say April and then him not being able to start school in September or the only school with spaces being really far away (only my DH drives).

So yeah, any advise would be great! especially on areas to avoid or that are good for a family like ours. I need something rural as busy places put me on edge, but equally I need to be able to take my youngest ones to play groups ect. they are all VERY VERY energetic so also need space to run! lol

Thank you!!!

The pressure on rentals is insane. I think if your needs are specific as you say, I would do absolutely nothing until you find somewhere. There is so much competition for housing right now in rural areas as everyone is making the same move. It may take more time thank you think and you may need to compromise on what you want.

Do you or DH have a shortlist of areas you may want to move to? The South West of England and Wales is a vast area.

I don't know the rental market in S Wales, but in Devon and Cornwall in hearing of 120+ applicants for every house coming up for rent, with most going before they are advertised.

Huge numbers of begging posts on local Fb pages looking for urgent rentals due to existing tenancies not being renewed or houses being sold. Not many replies except with names of letting agencies who have nothing available.

Lots of people being told to look at winter lets of holiday accommodation (caravans etc) to tide them over, but that only pushes the problematic forwards to February.

Maybe register with a dozen or so agencies in the area you are looking at so you know you're on lists?

Thank you @cabinfever102 , @Slayduggee & @RedCarsGoFaster!

One of the reasons we are looking at such a wide area is because of the current market and I am being very flexible on anything that isn't absolutly needed, like a garden for example. It's just so hard right now and it sends me insane if I think about the fact that the only reason we are having to move is because my parents hate renting!

They keep saying 'We won't kick you out' followed by 'We've been looking at properties'... In the end me and my DH just turned around and said 'OK so we can stay until the kids finish school then?' to which they admitted that actually there is a time limit of a year! I just didn't want my eldest mucked about with schools, as I had a few different schools through my parents moving alot and it caused me alot of bad memories. Especially as covid has already given him an unstable year with childminders. I wish I wasn't autistic or I would say sod it and home school him lol but I don't think we would survive the first week!

I am registered with more agencies than I can count and check Rightmove ect every 1 hour or so. I just mainly wanted to know if anyone has experience of having relocated after that January cut off and what the process was for getting their kids into school on time? or if there where areas that just weren't worth the comprise?

I moved to Somerset from Oxfordshire over the summer with two four year olds due to start reception. We only exchanged contracts days before schools broke for summer holiday, and I was majorly stressed that we wouldn’t have a place for them before school started. In the end it was totally fine - I had done research and spoke to the schools (COVID didn’t allow visits), and was able to find spots in my first choice even though it wasn’t technically in catchment.

There is a whole process for dealing with these sorts of situations which wasn’t clearly explained anywhere (not an in year transfer because it’s reception, but not the standard reception process either), and unless you are trying to get a place in an over subscribed school it is totally fine. The good news about much of the southwest (at least where we were looking in more rural communities ) is that there are loads of solid primary schools and they are rarely oversubscribed.

When we were researching, I found Locrating subscription to be really helpful, as it has all the data (including number of places available), that made it so much easier to evaluate housing options. You still need to call around to confirm space available, but it saved loads of time. You only pay a month at a time, so I had it for 3 months and then cancelled once we had everything confirmed.

I know how hard it is to not panic (I was a total stress mess) but it will work out!!. If you haven’t signed a contract by the school deadline, reserve a place in your local school so that they are in the system, and then once your move is confirmed just email / call the new school and they should be able to help.

Best of luck!!

I would recommend Exeter. Small city (130,000) with a motorway, airport and direct trains to London. 20/30 minutes drive to beaches and Dartmoor. Schools are good and most people get into the primary school they want to. I’ve only heard of issues on the northern outskirts of Exeter where they have recently built loads of houses.

I’m not from Exeter but I live here now. What I found when I was relocating was that no one took you seriously unless you were here. I presume because letting agents get so many emails/phone calls from people looking to relocate who Devon who are dreamers. Would it be possible for you to book a week in a Premier Inn (there is one opposite Exeter St Davids railway station). Then you can ring letting agents and tell them you are hear and want to view properties today/tomorrow.

Where I live there are three Ofsted rated good schools within walking distance. One admits to PAN most years. This is the school I want DC to go to. We are slightly out of catchment but I don’t see an issue as lots of children attend who are out of catchment. School two admits near PAN (maybe 10 spaces left out of 2 form entry). School 3 admits around near PAN per year (maybe 5/10 spaces)

DC are not at school yet so I cannot comment on admissions outside the normal process.

Rural but not driving is always going to limit things, as will dog and 3 young DC, and as PP says, south-west rental situation is a bit crazy at the moment so focusing your search on South Wales may be better - and cheaper depending on where you go. If you want to see schools before applying then you need to set aside a chunk of time now for your DH to drive you all around and visit potential places (schools, rentals, local areas). There's really only November left for recce'ing before the Xmas madness hits and then you'd need to be moving in January for the application to be on time. Of course you can make a late application and even chance it with the waiting lists. If it's not an oversubscribed school area then you could well be fine. Have a good old search around on the Primary Education threads on here as there's lots of good intell on schools all over the UK. Fwiw, we went through hell trying to move in time for primary applications, with various rentals and purchases falling through, so we ending up having to apply in the place we weren't staying just so we had that as back-up, then when we moved after the deadline, we put in a late application, ended up on the waiting list and finally got a place just before school started. So it all worked out but was hairy along the way. This was in London though, so as I say, if you target a quieter area for housing and schools, you might be under much less pressure. Good luck!

You have a massive amount to consider here. Firstly, are you aware that Welsh is compulsory in schools if you decide to move to Wales? Another thing to think about is how good the local SEN provision is, as the likelihood is at least one of your DC is also ASD. (I speak from experience here, both my DC are ASD). How far away will you be from family & any support network? You'll find yourself incredibly isolated in a rural area. It might be easier if you give us an idea of your budget & what you need.

@FuckYouCorona

You have a massive amount to consider here. Firstly, are you aware that Welsh is compulsory in schools if you decide to move to Wales? Another thing to think about is how good the local SEN provision is, as the likelihood is at least one of your DC is also ASD. (I speak from experience here, both my DC are ASD). How far away will you be from family & any support network? You'll find yourself incredibly isolated in a rural area. It might be easier if you give us an idea of your budget & what you need.

Welsh is compulsory, but in an English speaking school they will be learning and speaking it incidentally alongside lessons so don't let that out you off. If they are young, they'll be learning alongside their peers.

@FuckYouCorona

You have a massive amount to consider here. Firstly, are you aware that Welsh is compulsory in schools if you decide to move to Wales? Another thing to think about is how good the local SEN provision is, as the likelihood is at least one of your DC is also ASD. (I speak from experience here, both my DC are ASD). How far away will you be from family & any support network? You'll find yourself incredibly isolated in a rural area. It might be easier if you give us an idea of your budget & what you need.

They'll have compulsory Welsh lessons in the same way that many schools have compulsory French schools. However, unless you specifically choose a Welsh-medium school, they'll be taught in English.

Unless you're going to Gwynedd (North Wales), where all the primary schools are Welsh medium, this is a non-issue.

You’ll have an issue with welsh primary schools in parts of rural Carmarthenshire as well as shite public transport