Moving house and school allocation

[Smellyrose]

We are planning to move areas within the next 6 months and I’m worried about how senior school allocation works.

Can anyone help with school allocation policy? I’ve tried the council website but not found much info.

We’re moving to an area with two good schools within walking distance, another good school a few miles away and then the next school approx. 7 miles away. If there are no places in the closer schools can my child be allocated a school a lot further away?

At what point does the council have a duty to place her in a school (ie does it have to be within a certain distance?)

In general you will be allocated the nearest school with a space. I believe (and I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong!) that a journey of up to 75 minutes (using appropriate public transport) is generally considered acceptable. If the nearest school with a space is more than 3 miles, the LA is required to provide transport. This could be a bus pass, for example.

If there is no space at any school within a reasonable distance, the LA can make a school accept her.

What year is your DD currently in? Have you already applied for secondary schools?

Have you carefully checked the admissions criteria for those potential schools?

Not all schools allocate by distance first. My son's original comp allocated by feeder primaries and staff children first. Out of 250 year group only 50 got in by distance - closest first. This was a bit of a problem for us.

Some schools have tiny catchments and strange boundaries, so I advise you to check each school first.
Visit the website and scrutinise the admissions policy.

Ideally you need to be moved by October though as it's a risk leaving it until after the common application form (caf) deadline passes (as we also found!)

Sorry, I assumed a y7 admission. If this is in-year they should allocate nearest school with spaces (not necessarily your favourites).

You can appeal for a school of course if you have a strong case.

How old is your child? If this is an in year application they would be allocated one with a vacancy which in theory could be a distance away. You could appeal for a closer one but it would take time. If your dc is goi g onto y6 you can submit an application at end October as usual , naming schools in new area, but would need to amend the address if you moved afterwards. There is sometimes a short window to do this after the deadline and have the application treated as "on time" from the new address - the LA website should state if so.

Sorry, forgot to say she is year 7 so year 8 by the time we move.

Thanks for all your advice - probably best if I call the council before we move. I really don’t want her gone nag to a school miles away.