Moving house a few days before offer day - admissions experts please?!

[CoffeeWithCheese]

OK - so can of worms has been opened here. Have application in for Y6 DD1's transfer to secondary school - all done dutifully with preferences logically thought out. 3 out of 4 of our choices are out of catchment, 1 is a long shot and the other 2 are ones we realistically have a decent chance of getting into... choice number 4 is our current very local outstanding GCSE factory, hive of bullying, scum, villainy and not somewhere we really want to go to (DD1 will not thrive there but we put it down as our banker last-ditch jobbie).

However now it looks like our house purchase - moving very locally but we live RIGHT on the border between counties and will be moving across the county line, will complete a couple of days before offer day - where do we stand on that? Does the current application get ruled out or is it based on where we were when we applied and where we were until a couple of days before offer day. Fully aware we're going to be on parental school run taxi duty with a slightly longer school run and absolutely fine with that.

Your current address is used. If you want to put in an application with your new address, it will be treated as a late application and processed after the main offers round has been made.

Your original address stands. Your offer will come out on March 1, as normal.

Once you get your offer, you can decide whether you want to try and and go on waiting lists for other schools if you have more near where you are moving to, and can update your address then. Though it sounds as if you don't want to do that at this stage.

Contrary to what some will try and tell you, the school/LA cannot withdraw the offer once made simply because you move home. They would only be entitled to do so if they genuinely thought your application was fraudulent (as in, not your child's permanent address at time of application).

Yep your current address stands. I had similar when we moved. There's a cut off point when they will use your old address. If you're moving just before offer day your old address will apply to your application. As PP have said if you go on to waiting lists, your new address will apply.

Thanks to those who've confirmed what I thought was the situation - just didn't want to leave it to chance as DD1 would be livid if her carefully plotted social life was messed up!

You still need to tell them so that they can send any information to your new address.

Hi

don't want to be the bearer of bad news but this isn't always the case anymore - Kingston and some other admission authorities have started to withdraw offers when people have moved between closing date and September.

It affected one of our residents once and we were shocked - we challenged their decision it has been raised and a higher level... not something that any of the neighbouring authorities like and feel is unfair !

Please check with Local Authorities relevant to your application.

This would be explicitly against the Admissions Code, and as such, if the parents were to take it to appeal I would expect them to win, unless Kingston had a good case to show that they believed the original address was fraudulent (which does happen of course - people rent short term then move once they have an offer. In that case the place can be removed)

Kingston may be banking on parents not knowing this, or they may be badly informed themselves, but either way they cannot legally remove an offer of a place simply because of a house move.

that was rather how we understood the position be when we kicked up a fuss - we encouraged the family to appeal - but they didn't.

Just wanted to warn OP that it is not cut and dried anymore - they genuinely feel that that have made a valid interpretation of the Admissions Code - when challenged they cited other admission authorities doing the same.

I would have to log on to work for more detailed examples and their (batshit) decision to do this.

Just wanted to warn OP that it is not cut and dried anymore - they genuinely feel that that have made a valid interpretation of the Admissions Code - when challenged they cited other admission authorities doing the same.

Hmmm - i would imagine they are trying to rely on the "intentionally misleading" part of the code, which they are arguing covers people who are intending to/in the process of moving at the time of application. However, given the parents can only use the permanent address at time of application, an intended address cannot be used anyway assuming the parents do not already own/rent the new property so they are wrong. If they were correct, it would leave parents in the process of moving unable to use either address!

Shame they didn't appeal!

@PatriciaHolm

I checked back and is is around misleading information although think that they are being pushed by both the Tiffin schools as they have similar in their policies.

Funny how they don't offer places to people who have moved and only take places away.

Kingston info:

www.kingston.gov.uk/schools-education/apply-secondary-school-place-september-intake/4

Moving home during the application process
If you move house at any time after the deadline date and before your child starts school, you must inform the School Admissions team. Your application and any offer you hold will be reviewed.
If you move into the borough after the closing date please contact School Admissions for further information and advice.

They also send this:

Reassessment of the home address
The offer made to you is based on the information you provided your application. If the principal address for your child changes after the allocation of places has been made we will consider the offer as made in error because it was based on information which no longer applies. We will reassess your application based on the new address information and this will result in the one of the following.
• The offer is confirmed because your child is still entitled to the place using the oversubscription criteria.
• Your child’s name is placed higher or lower on the waiting lists for your preferred schools based on the new address.
• The offer will be withdrawn because your child no longer qualifies for the place offered using the new address and the oversubscription criteria for the school. In this case the offer of a new place will be made and your child’s name will be placed on waiting lists at the appropriate point.
This reassessment will be applied to all address changes that occur during the application period.

If you are resident in another borough your home local authority will be informed of the decision and will provide you with information on the next steps.

Thankfully we don't live there and we're pushing to NOT get into the outstanding school around here! (It would be A. Bad. Place. for both my kids in terms of how they'd manage there).

This is sad to know. In the current rental market situation, landlords tend not to continue a lease in order to look for other tenants who can pay higher. This complicates the case if the tenants have a kid who is in the school admission process. The family may be forced to move house within the application period, which will void the offer received.

In this case, I wonder if the affected family has any chance to appeal?

Kingston's policy is contrary to the Admissions Code. They cannot withdraw an offer simply because the child moves. Any parent falling victim to this should be able to get the place reinstated on appeal.

I helped a parent with an appeal for another London borough that operated a similar policy. They tried to argue that a parent moving after the offer was made meant their application was deliberately misleading, even though, at the time of application, the parent had no idea they would be forced to move by their landlord. I pointed out to the appeal panel that the borough was effectively arguing that the parent should have applied from their new address even though, at the time of application, they had no idea they would be moving there, they had no connection with that address and the borough would have rejected any application using that address.

Kingston's approach is a little different in trying to argue that the offer has been made in error, but their argument fails for the same reasons in my view.