Secondary school application can I use my parents address?

[H89]

Hi
I split up with my husband and me and my children have moved back into my parent’s home about 2months ago.

I need to start thinking about applying for secondary schools soon and I was wondering whether I can use my parents address on the application form? My son lives with me in the week and sees his dad on the weekends.
I am still on the council tax at my old address due to my ex being in denial and not telling them I have moved out.

If I apply for a school near to my parents address and they ask for proof what can I give them? I have changed my address at my doctors, and online banking but I’m not down at living at my parents house due to just moving in and it not being a permanent thing but it is the address I’m using this year.

please help.
Thanks

I believe it has to be at the address where you pay council tax.

Might be worth checking with admissions to see what's what incase they feel you're making a false claim. Schools ask for proof of address once they've offered a place.

You can ring council tax people and get yourself taken off for council tax at old address. Tell them you and DC moved out. Give them your new address. You don't have to wait for your h to do it for you.

Although it will make for extra hassle when you move out again, the more you do to make your residency at your oarents house "official" the better:

> register to vote at that address so your namd is on the electoral roll.
> ask your parents to allow you to take over one of the utility bills eg the water bill
> change the address on your driving licence and car registration, if you are a driver.
> if you haven't yet formally started divorce proceedings, get them started.

Unfortunately it is very common for grandparents to live in a more well-to-do area with a naice school and for the younger family to not be able to afford that and to live in the catchment of the troubled school struggling with a challenging intake. The LEA are very alert to the "breakup of convenience" which requires the kids to be ordinarily resident at grandma's house for approx 9 months and then once the school place is secured mum & dad happily reconcile. Not accusing you of doing this but the less you do to dissociate from the old house and establish your parents house as your actual abode, the more similar to those fraudsters you will look.

If you haven't done so already, add your son's school to the list of places that have your parents' address as his home address, as well as yours, as that is where he spends the majority of nights in the school week.

If your former marital home is owned, rather than rented, and is not unfeasibly far away from tour temporary address, be aware that some LAs (and schools themselves, separately, if their own admissions authority) have rules about which address will be used officially.

Take yourself off the council tax in your old home for a start

This. It will save your ex money as he will get the 25% discount so I’m sure he will get over it.

Get yourself added to your parents as well (won’t change the cost but will mean you are liable if they don’t pay so adds to the message of “I live here now”).

Change your address on the electoral roll.

Contact the LA admissions people to explain the situation and clarify which address you should use. Do this by email so you have evidence of their response in writing - don't ask on the phone. (I used to work in primary school admissions and this is always the advice I would give.)

You need to get registered for council tax at your parents as others have said.

I lived with my parents when applying for dds school place and it was fine (London catchment and quite sought after, so checks were tight). Had moved back from overseas so wasn't recorded as living anywhere else in the UK, but I got all my banking, GP, dentist, employer, child benefit etc registered there and electoral roll. Was added to council tax and utility bills.

I moved out in the summer term after dd had started and it wasn't an issue for dd's place (stayed within short bus ride of the school but not in catchment as property prices too high).

I am still on the council tax at my old address due to my ex being in denial and not telling them I have moved out.

What’s your husband's denial got to do with anything?! You ring them.

What is your plan to find accommodation in the long term? In the meantime change everything - car tax, car insurance, council tax, address at school, GP, dentist, house insurance - take yourself off marital home, mortgage - update them, child benefit etc.

I don’t understand why you haven’t rung the council tax office yourself? Would take you 5 minutes to get transferred over. Odd that you haven’t.

5 minutes? More like 25. They don’t answer the phone here.

I would check the exact admissions criteria for this school. They are not all the same. Even in the same LA. Some have residence rules for a much longer period.

The address you apply from has to be your permanent address. That includes council tax and electoral role. Ring the council yourself.

Not sure where you are but the secondary I work at does home visits for any students who had not been at the applicant address permanently for 12 months at the time of admission to ensure it’s a genuine address so be prepared for a home visit.

Get the address on your child benefit changed.

Some LAs use the address where the CB fir the child is paid, where parents are separated.

You need to check what evidence of address is used to determine the dc home, might be child benefit letter or similar , council tax bill, gp surgery, utility bills etc. Do you plan to find your own home?

This is definitely what happens in my LEA as I happened to be reading about it this morning.