For which period do I need to live near secondary school for applications

[Mallowmarshmallow]

I am considering renting a property close to our favoured secondary school and move into it for a period in order to get a place at the preferred school.

Does anyone know for what period I would need to have the property?

I realise this is using a situation to benefit me, however we would genuinely move into the property for the required period.

My understanding is that I would need to live in the property at the end of October application deadline, up until the point of accepting the place in March. At which point I could move out. Is that correct?

Not really relevant to the OP but how would you know, if both parent and child 'lived' in the rented house?
What's to stop someone claiming they were separated, and renting temporarily, If they stayed there a year then moved back before the school year started? Unless you hired a private detective and found them spending time as a family anybody could claim that.

No you didn't, they have to follow the admissions criteria by law. She would have got in anyway.

Councils have seen parents trying the "we've separated" line and then getting back together once offers have been made. They therefore treat such claims with caution, which is a shame for parents who have genuinely separated.

Council Tax records and other information available to LAs will tell them if the parents own a house. If they do, most councils will use that address and not a rented address, even if the parent and child are actually living at the rented address, unless the house they own is a long way away.

That's sort of my point - they finished the charade too quickly.
If they'd waited longer, even to the point of their child finishing their first year of school - would you be able to tell?
Depends on how desperate they are.

The fact you can't see it's fraud is incredible.

Will you always teach your children that they can have whatever they want if you can pay your way round the rules?

Great parenting.

They don't need a private detective - council workers can and do stake out suspicious addresses.

You'd be lucky if the person dealing with the admissions even bothered saving the email, never mind taking it as a good reason to break the Law.

But then, I've encountered a fair few people with a 'friend' who thinks themselves a bit of a playground lawyer on the grounds of their getting a place for their kid after being a complete knob over the phone/via email/turning up and demanding an offer. Nope, what actually happened is that whilst they were busy being an utter twat to all concerned, somebody else withdrew their acceptance in favour of private/moved house/got an offer from a higher preference school after being on the waiting list since March and their kid got to the top of the waiting list.

After all, if the Law was that easy to ignore, the most logical course of action would be to dump them off the waiting list altogether for being a pain in the arse, wouldn't it?

I can believe it.

What some pushy parents will do! Amazing.

The majority of recent migrants to London from Hong Kong are concentrated in 4 London boroughs that have outstanding state schools and/or are within grammar school catchments. Presumably they are all using the same relocation consultant and/or sharing information. So yes, it does happen, but councils are alert to people doing it fraudulently.

People who are renting anyway are obviously more mobile than people who own their own home.

The point I was trying to make is that many councils discount the "we've separated" line, particularly when the parent with whom the child is allegedly living is in rented accommodation and jointly owns a property in the area with the other parent. It therefore doesn't matter how long they wait. The council won't use their address. That is why I said it is a shame for parent that have genuinely separated.

We don't doubt that your dd got a place at the school. But it wasn't because you emailed the school pleading for it. It was because you lived near enough to get a place (or other reasons on the school's admissions criteria like LAC). Academies have to follow procedure too.

Maybe it was back when more schools had “Exceptional social/medical circumstances” and the school felt her daughter’s case warranted it - but our local schools have now dispensed with that criteria, and even medical diagnoses and some solid educational reasons was not enough to get my son into our closest secondary.

As everyone told me this time last year, it may actually work out for the best, and maybe it has, as the school he was allocated (4th on our list) is such an inclusive and supportive school. They have allowed him to flexischool and provided so much support, all without an EHCP. I have know other boys be pulled out of the school we wanted him to go to and I do wonder what his fate would have been there.

Am sure you will do it whatever people say and maybe it will work. But my LA is very wise to it. You say you want to do this to get your kid into this good school. Dont assume those parents whose child should have got in above yours will just accept it, they will report you and be vocal about it. So while it appears you do not care about other people it may be that it is your child who is affected by at first getting in, then being reported and having their place taken away and sent to wherever has space.

I agree with this. I hope you get caught and they don't let you get away with it. You will be taking a place from a family that actually have a right to be there.

Hate to pop your bubble but the reason your dd was offered a place was because when the computer followed the admission procedures it allocated the school from your application form. School admission computers don’t read emails.