Thousands of parents go to desperate lengths every year to get their children into the best local state school whether it’s a grammar, comprehensive or faith establishment.
Tales of atheist parents pretending to be ardent believers can be amusing social chatter, but cheating the system denies bona fide local parents the chance to have their children educated nearby in a good school.
But is this behaviour understandable given the pressures many parents feel? In many areas of the UK there can be up to eight and sometimes ten applicants per primary or secondary school place, and a recent survey suggested that a quarter of all parents move home to get into the catchment area of a good school.
Who would blame a parent who pushes every button available to them to get their offspring into the best-performing local school?
What does school catchment area mean?
The greatest challenge for many parents is that they do not live within the catchment areas of the best ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ OFSTED-rated schools in their area.
These school catchment areas often change from year-to-year and many schools operate policies that offer the first places to children who live in a ‘straight line’ nearest to the school.
Such competitive rules leave parents who rent with one legitimate choice; to find a new rented home within the catchment area.
Getting the timing right can be a nightmare; most schools accept applications in October for the next year’s intake, which are usually offered (and appeals heard) by the end of June.
And there is the price; there are plenty of studies that show how homes within catchment areas of good primary and secondary schools rent at a premium.
This, when coupled to higher rents and moving costs, can mean paying thousands to get into a school.
Rent a home
Many agents say that renting a home in a catchment area is becoming a growing phenomenon as school places become harder to secure.
Local authorities have become wise to this and now employ ‘school catchment police’ to look at applicants from parents who have recently moved into an area to ensure they are bona fide local residents.
Most schools do not require proof of address from anyone applying for a place via a Common Application Form, but instead ask for it when an offer is made.
Usually this means a family must provide evidence that they have lived in an area for at least six months before the school year begins and have a standard rolling 12-month tenancy agreement in place.
Principle resident
As one London school puts it in their prospectus: “Home address is the place at which the child should live permanently and full time as the principal residence. It does not include short-term rental or leased properties, or the address of a relative or carer, unless they have legal custody of the child.
“Where parents have shared responsibility for [their offspring] and the child lives for part of the week with each parent, the distance from 'home to the school' will be taken as the property nearest to the school.”
Trying to dodge these kinds of rules is often called fraud, but it’s neither illegal nor fraudulent in the true legal meaning of the word.
But parents who attempt to cheat the system like this risk their application for a school place being at least blocked or turned down and, if their ruse is discovered later on, their child or children being removed from the school.
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Remember the information provided in this article is for information purposes only and should not be considered as advice.
