Help! We might be moving school after admissions deadline

[1Brummiemummy]

I'm stuck in such a mess I don't know what to do. I've got to put my dd preferences down for a secondary school place by 31st Oct & I don't know what to do. I'm currently living in Birmingham however I might be moving into the Solihull Borough in the next few weeks but I don't know where abouts. Has anyone had any experience of this? I've spoken with both councils & I've asked if I can change my prefrences after the deadline but they said it will be classed as a late application if I do this? They suggested I list Birmingham & Solihull Schools on my application. I have no idea where I'm going to end up so my head is about to burst. Any advice welcome

The first thing you need to understand is to be sure of the process. You need to register preferences before the 31st October and that has to be with the LA where you are living at that time (Birmingham). You do not have any choice in that.
Whilst the cut off date is the 31st October, all LAs tend to operate some kind of system to allow for house moves. As the LAs would prefer you not to have to change to much they tend to bury that info in their admission guidance rather than publicise it too much. So for Birmingham the relevant date is the 13th November and what you have to do can be seen at file:///C:/Users/admis/Downloads/LADeterminedCoordinatedAdmissionsScheme_2019%20(1).pdf

However I suspect that you will not have moved by the cutoff date of the 13th November. When you look at the information in the Solihull admission information they say that they can consider change of address till early January but are far more vague about how it can happen. This is especially true in the context of you, making an on-time application before 31st October will be using your birmingham address.

My advice would be to leave any application till 30th October so that it gives you the longest possible time to try and get more sense into the proposed move. Apply on time and make sure you get confirmation back by email before the cut-off time. In terms of what to use as your preference schools I suspect you would be best to put 2 solihull schools as your first two preferences and then as third preference put down your local preferred school in Birmingham. As the Equal Preference Scheme is in operation, if you are still in Birmingham on the 1st March there is a reasonable chance of getting the local to you secondary school because the two schools in Solihull you will be too far away to be successful. However you do need to put down Solihull schools in the hope that you can get a change of address registered.
What is also important is what happens after the 31st October in terms of address. If you do move to Solihull then you need to inform Birmingham LA of the new address but state that you only want them to use the new address for communication purposes. If you do not say this, then they will treat you as a late application and direct you to Solihull Council. That will mean you go to the back of the queue and will not be considered till after 1st March. As soon as you know the outcome on the 1st March, you need to get the new address used for admission purposes and therefore as you are now in Solihull you need to go their admission department and get the address changed to your new address and on the waiting list for all the schools that you feel are appropriate. You may well also have to go through the appeals process but that is a long way off.

Thank you so much Admission. This sounds like good sound advice. Ideally I'd like a school within walking distance or 1 bus. Like I say I have no idea where I'll end up so picking a school is like plucking one out of the good ones & pray we move closest. I'm hoping to have a new address by December. I have read the links you've mentioned, thanks for those however I'm still confused as to whether I will need to apply to the new council Solihull & whether or not I can then mention my new prefrences (within walking distance) or do I leave it to Birmingham to deal with my admissions? Sorry for not grasping it :-/

So if i approach Solihull myself I'll go to the back of the queue (as a late application) right?

We moved like this and did original ontime application from first area and got local school (before knew moving).

Then we applied from first area to schools in area moving to - all rejected but put on waiting list. Also kept in touch directly with school which was first preference.

Once we had exchanged application could then be moved over to new area. We then got places in new area (had a battle with council to get them but in theory this shouldn't happen).

Thanks for input penguinsetpandas. Handy to hear other stories. Did your your DC start & then change or did you get the space before Sept? Was it what your first preference & the local catchmemt school to where you moved to?

I'm still confused as to whether I will need to apply to the new council Solihull & whether or not I can then mention my new prefrences (within walking distance) or do I leave it to Birmingham to deal with my admissions

Initially you apply to Birmingham as that is where you will be living. You put your preferred Solihull schools as first and second preferences, making your local preferred school in Birmingham your third preference. You cannot apply to Solihull as you don't live there. Birmingham will work with Solihull to process your application. You continue to do everything through Birmingham until offers come out. At that point, if you are living in Solihull and haven't got one of your preferred schools in Solihull, you start talking to Solihull admissions and make sure they are using your new address to determine your position on the waiting list.

Thanks Prh47bridge. I'm going to put a few Solihull Schools down but if I move closer to another School in solihull not on my prefrences can I then liase with Birmingham to change them? I'm expecting to have a new address by December hopefully.

Do not change your preferences until offers come out. If you change your preferences in December you will probably end up being treated as a late application which will put you at the back of the queue for places. Once offers come out you can change your preferences without penalty.

We exchanged in July and got our first choice in the new area for a y7 and a y8. It was very close, nearly got allocated a school 10 miles away for y8.

Once you move you application should then be managed by Solihull once you've given proof of a move and yes you can change preferences any time. When we moved I thought they said we were treated as a new late application from date of exchange in area moved to but check with the areas concerned. We didn't stand a chance of places from old address and were a late application anyway for changes of schools.

Its probably worth researching schools and catchments heavily before you move and obviously the closer the better, we are 0.5 miles away here and as rural bumped us up to no. 1, in other areas you may need to be closer to go higher. Sure you are researching anyway - the more local knowledge you get the better. There is sometimes quite a bit of movement on waiting lists - often around March / April and then July / August / first week September so if you are very close to a school you want that will help assuning admits on distance. DD was at 180 entry grammar school year before, 25 on waiting list in March, offered in July but every school will be different - that's why local knowledge helps. Sometimes the LEA will give a guide but obviously no-one can guarantee.

Once you move you application should then be managed by Solihull once you've given proof of a move and yes you can change preferences any time

It does not help the OP if you post incorrect information. The last thing she wants is for Solihull to take over once she moves. She will then be treated as a late applicant. She needs to follow the advice she has already been given so that Birmingham remain in charge and she is treated as an on time applicant. Similarly, if she changes her preferences after the closing date for applications but before offer day she will almost certainly be treated as a late applicant, so changing them is a very bad idea.

In our areas the old area couldn't do the application once we had moved, not an option, as our new address not in their area. Ask the areas involved.

In our areas the old area couldn't do the application once we had moved, not an option, as our new address not in their area

That is what will happen if you change the address used for admissions purposes. If you do that you will usually end up being treated as a late applicant. If you tell them to use the new address for correspondence but stick with the old address for all other purposes (as the OP has been advised) your application will still be handled by your old LA. National rules apply so no need to check locally.

Thanks for all your input, it's very much appreciated. I spoken with Solihull Council again and they stated I have to notify Birmingham of my change of address. If i change my prefrences after 31st it will be classed as a late application. I'm not sure once we move and if local to a decent school whether it will be worth changing and taking gamble. If I do, we could end up with a school further away & not good academic wise. I don't know what to do for the best. This is stressful

Even if you are local to a decent school you won't get a place if you change your preferences when you move. As a late applicant you would go to the back of the queue so, if the school is oversubscribed (which any decent school will be) you will have no chance of getting a place. Once offers have come out being a late applicant no longer matters. That is the time to change your preferences, not before.

Thanks prh47bridge okay got that. Once places are offered do i then if nessasary ask for a place at our preferred/catchment school? And will i have a timescale to do this? What happens if we lived very close but others got their word in first that lived further away? At what point do they go down the list? Is it as soon as a place becomes available they offer it to the next in line depending on the admissions criteria? So basically if you're not on the list straight away your not getting that space? Sorry for all questions, I hope I make sense. Just want to be clear on the journey ahead. I wish it was as easy to put a school I know I'll be living local to but I just haven't a clue. It's time to make my choices......aaarrrhhhh

As soon as places are offered you can change your preferences. At that point it doesn't matter that others applied first. Your position on the waiting list is determined purely by the school's admission criteria. When a place is offered it goes to whoever is at the head of the list at that point regardless of whether they applied three months ago or yesterday.