Moving/renting/living with grandparents

[mungogerry]

I am very much thinking ahead, so there is plenty of time for any moves etc. But can you help me decide what may be necessary regarding secondary applications, as - so far - it is unknown territory?

I live at a point on the map where 5 catchment areas meet, it means my secondary catchment school is 12 miles away, as it covers a very large rural area, it is borderline special measures. There are 5 other schools nearer to us than this catchment school.

My nearest school is 4 miles away and has had its ofsted just through, and has moved up a notch to outsanding in all areas. This school admits up to point 7 of 9 on their admissions policy - and this includes admitting out of catchment, as the crow flies the furthest child admitted lived 2.85 miles away.

So for many reasons, like the 5 min drive rather than the 45 mins school bus jaunt, and the obvious performance of the school reasons, I would prefer my children to all go to my nearest (and the best school). My question is - how do I achieve that? Here are my thoughts:

1. My parents retire next year, do they retire to the village where she school is, and dd can live with them Mon to Thurs if needs be. How would we prove she were with them? Surely the school would need some proof?
   
   
2. Do we rent there temporarily to get her in? How long would we need to rent for? ie from before application to starting school? What paperwork do the LEA use when considering awarding places? Would my child benefit have to move, bills etc?
   
   
3. We are not going to move family home - but could maybe buy another house in the village, so that we would be within catchment, that one DH or I had to occupy with DD for the admission duration, and then sell afterwards? Would her place be withdrawn if we moved out of the house after a year? Or is it for life iykwim?
   
   Thank you for any advice on any of these options.

[wondersofthestonersystem]

Where I live, evidence of council tax is asked for everyone with the common application form.

A popular school has had so many people faking addresses that they now also require proof of tenancy extending 6 months after admission date. This means that even though I have lived in my house for 5 years, I may not be able to apply to this school, as my tenancy is a rolling one & thus I have no proof that I would be resident in six months time as my landlord can give me two months notice at any time.

If admissions suspect that addresses are temporary then they have been been known to step up their investigations to include doorstepping at odd times to see who is actually living in the house - this may affect since you say you do not intend to move your family home to the one you are renting / buying. If they get this far, then, yes, I expect they could ask to see bills & child benefit.

Even if you aren't concerned about the effect of your actions on others, please think very carefully about the effect on your child if you go through some huge, expensive subterfuge to obtain them a school place & then it fails at the last hurdle - won't they feel guilty about that?

I do see you are just throwing ideas up in the air & this is all hypothetical at the moment! So I'm trying not to judge - it's perfectly normal to get secondary school panic & consider absolutely anything before discarding the crazier ideas & the ones that don't sit with your personal ethics...

Did you know for instance, that step siblings get as much sibling preference as any other. Perhaps you could divorce your dh & marry a parent of a child at the school. I expect if you separated six months later no-one would mind & you could move back in with your dh.

[wondersofthestonersystem]

OK - borderline special mesures is worrying for a school.

Before you do anything rash, check the admissions arrangements carefully in your area to see if you are at a disavantage with the other 4 schools, even if you can't get in to the nearest one.

And a lot can change in a few years - school standards, demographics & admission policies. What if you moved to the doorstep of your favourite school & then it switched to lottery over distance?

[admission]

I think you are clutching at straws and will be found out. The first thing that the LA does on secondary transfer pupils is compare the address on the application with the address on the pupil file at the primary school. If they do not match then that is a problem.
The LA will not accept the children living with grandparents for the majority of the week unless there is some kind of specific reason, court order etc and as giddypickle says the next check is always where is the child benefit paid to.
As far as moving house or renting is concerned you need to look very carefully at the admission arrangements for the school to check what level of commitment there is required. I would suggest that any rent must be for at least a year and cover the required set dates but also till a good few months after commencing at the school. It will be necessary to live in the rented or bought accomodation as the final and frequently used method of checking is to arrive on the doorstep either early morning or in the evening. Nobody there means no school place.
The other thing you do need to consider is the effect on your child of you being branded a cheat because that is what will happen if you try and get around the system and get caught. Plus even if you get the first child in, there is no guarantee the others will.

[Saracen]

Is your heart set on the nearest school, or would you consider one of the other nearer schools over the one you don't like?

If there are five schools which would be acceptable to you, I should think you'd have an excellent chance of getting your dc in to one of them via waiting lists, if not in the normal admissions round. This is especially the case if you are prepared to wait beyond the start of Year 7.

You could either send your child to whichever school is allocated while going onto the waiting lists of all the others, or else home educate for a while until a place comes up.

[mungogerry]

Thank you all.

Looks like I have a lot to consider. I am undecided whether this will be the best school when the time comes (as said, a lot can change in a few years) but at least now I know the grandparent option is out.

If we were to have our heart set on this school then I think we would need to move judging from your replies, and I think we would be prepared to do that. I have 4 children so it is in all their interest, even if that would mean a communte back to primary - or a primary move until they all hit 11+.

I will also look into the 5 other options more.

Thanks again.

[MillsAndDoom]

Where we are for some primary schools, siblings get priority over catchment but the opposite for secondary so a temporary move would not be beneficial as here there would be no certainty that the younger DCs would get in if you moved back to your original family home.

You really need to study the admission criteria