Logistics of moving and schools

[Feffalump]

Not sure if this is the right place as it's not property related but I see house move advice so it seemed the closest topic match.

So I'm looking at relocating, my house is on the market and getting a lot of interest. I haven't found a house to move into yet.

I've started to email around schools, but they are all full. They said that 6 weeks prior to wanting to start, I need to do an application, then when it's declined I can choose a school to go in a wait list for. But I have to be in the local authority to do this. I would be happy to be on a waiting list, pause the sale of my house, and only start looking at proceeding when she is confirmed a place. But I'm not sure I will get anywhere with an address 40 miles away!

I guess what I'm asking is, if I find a property and move, are we then stuck in limbo for the foreseeable waiting for a place to come available? Or once we have an address is there a duty to allocate DD a place (although I'm aware I don't get to choose).

If it's limbo, then the move isn't going to happen as it's not a risk I can take. But nobody appears to have a straight answer. I wondered if anyone knew much about this?

I think the local authority have a duty to offer a school place at the nearest school with a space. You then attend that school but can stay on the waiting list until a place becomes available at your chosen school. In my authority they refresh the waiting list each term so you need to reapply. Lots of people don’t realise and think they’ve been on a waiting list for years and they haven’t. Depending on where you’re going and how big the school is you could be on a while. So if a 2 or 3 form entry in an area with high mobility, a place should come available fairly quickly but at a smaller school with less movement it’s possible it could never come up. But I’m 99% sure that they have a legal duty to give you a place somewhere.

What happened with DD when we moved into an area with a shortage of spaces...

1. We applied for three closest schools
2. DD2 offered a place at one, DD1 no offers
3. Council then applied on our behalf to every school in the area, spreading out from our address (meanwhile we had to accept DD2s place, and she had to start). Meanwhile we appealed for a place at the same school for DD1.
4. DD1 offered a place several miles away, including council taxi. She then had to start at this school while we waited for appeal date, (she had been out of school for half a term by then)
5. Appeal successful, she went to same school as her sister.

The appeal was won as the move was due to the Army not just our choice... apparently this should have been considered as they offered her sister a place.

So basically yes you have to move before they will help you. School places appear randomly.

The address you apply from has to be your permanent address, so pausing the sale until a place is available won’t work, because you’d be applying from your current address.

When you move and have a permanent address, the authority must try to find a place for you. You apply for schools, but the ones you apply for will probably be full. You will probably be offered a place further away, but transport should be provided beyond a certain distance. I think it’s deemed reasonable for secondary aged children to travel for up to 75 minutes.

You put yourself on the waiting list for schools you prefer and keep checking to see whether the list has changed.

It’s possible, or even probable that there could be a hiatus.

I have a family in my school just now who have moved outwith the area and due to there not being a place available the authority pay a taxi to our school and back. I’ve had this happen a few times in my career. The places often come up quickly after as they aren’t keen to be paying the transport. However 40miles is quite a lot! They might do the same to a school outwith your new catchment until a place becomes available. I’m in Scotland though so might be different.

Oh no!! This is all starting to sound a bit complex. I don't HAVE to move, but we would have a much better quality of life where we are looking.

But we wouldn't if DD has to move schools twice, and potentially has a large commute just to get to her new school. I'm a single parent so it's just not feasible. I will call the local authority on Tuesday and check their process. It's Cheshire East if that's helpful for anyone.

I am in a good position in that DDs dad is about 15 mins away from where we want to move, so we could take up a place quite quickly and my parents are round the corner from her current school, so there are temporary solutions. But if I buy a house and move away, and she never gets a place at a local school then it would be impossible.

Might have to rethink and consider it when my daughter starts high school - she is in year 3 now so I thought now would be best timing for her.

Thanks everyone.

If you want it for Secondary you have to move before October in Yr6.

We did this 18 months ago except the move was 200 miles so there was no way we could commute it!

We put house on market and went into a rental - we took out the tenancy for a month before we needed to move so we had a permanent address to apply from in the new area. You could only apply 20 working days before you needed the school place. We applied 20 working days before the move date and got notified within about a week that we'd got a place at our first choice school.

We then moved, DD started school, we completed house sale and looked to buy a house close to the new school.