Moving house and changing schools
January 3, 2019
The time spent planning a moving day can be highly stressful for everybody involved even when you've compiled your moving checklist! With so many people involved, moving house can quickly turn from an adventure into a nightmare - and that's before you even factor in tasks such as commuting or changing schools.
While parents have to book time off work, find a good quality removal company and plan how best to pack everyone’s belongings, children are left to get used to a new and unfamiliar location. This can be a challenging time, and not just for younger children. Older kids and even teenagers can also struggle to adapt to new lives away from familiar support structures.
In order to make the transition of moving home with children as easy as possible, it is important to start helping your kids to prepare for the move early on. A large part of this is making sure that they have new schools lined up in your future neighbourhood. Failing to organise this on time could lead to serious delays in your children's educational progress, or leave them with serious catching up to do.
Finding the right school
The first step to changing schools is to go online and search for in your new neighbourhood. You should get started on this several months in advance, especially if you want to secure the best school place for your child. While you are searching, you will want to keep your kids at their current schools during this time to avoid any unnecessary delays or breaks in their syllabuses.
Ideally, you should aim to arrange for your children to start at their new schools at the beginning of a new term or academic year. Having to move in the middle of term or just before exams can cause a great deal of unnecessary stress as children try to get adjusted.
Once you have a list of options, it is time to look at what people are saying online. Pay close attention to the Ofsted ratings for each school, as well as any reviews written by students, parents or members of staff. Next, check the statistics on the website for the UK Department of Education for each of your choices. This will allow you to compare factors such as average academic results, attendance, the male to female ratio and so on.
It is worth keeping in mind that around eight out of ten schools are rated as Good or above by Ofsted. As such, a little research should be more than enough to provide you with a handful of well-rated options for each of your kids.
While you should always keep in mind just how much planning is required for a process like this, the welfare of your children should always be at the forefront of your mind. The most important thing for you to do is to provide support for them at home, both before and after the move. You may even want to take trips to your new neighbourhood to help your child adjust early on. There might be local clubs for them to join, which could be a great way for them to make new friends.
Applying to a new school
The most important thing to keep in mind when applying for school placements in a new area is that each local authority may have different rules for applications. As such, it is important to start the process of changing schools early on.
The most important distinction to make will be whether you need to apply for placements through individual schools or via the local authority. Remember, your application should be made at least six weeks in advance of when you want your children to start school, so do not waste any time once you know your moving date.
You should also keep in mind that not all of your applications may be successful. Because of this, you should try to submit as many as possible, just in case your choices are narrowed down by rejections.
For your application, you will need to have proof of your new address. Luckily, the process of moving house comes with more than its fair share of paperwork. You could bring a new utility bill, a copy of your lease agreement, a letter from a conveyancer or any other official documentation which lists your name at your new address.
Other important pieces of information you may need include your child’s academic records, as well as any pertinent information relating to their health and welfare, such as whether they have any special educational needs. This will all be important when your applications are being examined, as will the distance from each school to your new address.
If you are moving during an ongoing term, it will be doubly important for you to do your research on each potential school. Feel free to contact them in advance to see what their standard process is for helping new children settle. They should be able to provide advice, as well as any work required for your child to get up to date with their new lessons.
Are your children ready for changing schools?
During this time, it's also important to help your children get used to the idea of changing schools. It will mean leaving their friends behind, easing into a new environment and perhaps even having to take some time off.
In an ideal world, you would be able to move in-between either school terms or academic years. This would allow you to avoid your children having to skip lessons or suffer too jarring of a change in their curriculum. Even so, it may well be that your children will still have catching up to do before they get started at their new schools.
What if my application is denied?
If a school you apply to is oversubscribed, or if you live outside the required catchment area, you may well have an application turned down. As such, it is important not to put all of your eggs in one basket while looking for potential schools.
If an application is denied, you can make an appeal to the admissions office. The details will then be assessed by various members of staff, either at the school itself or at the local council.
Depending on the situation, you may be given a chance to show why you feel your chosen school will be a better fit for your child, such as its proximity to your new home or if there are other factors that could help them adjust.
For example, if your child has been involved in extracurricular activities which are also popular at one of their prospective schools, it could help with their enrolment chances. Should the appeal still be denied, it may be a good idea to ask to be placed on the continuing interest lists for your chosen schools. This will ensure that you will be contacted should a place become available.
Finally, keep in mind that your new local council will be legally obliged to find a suitable option for your child. If they choose a school which is not on your shortlist, it is worth considering it as an option before you decide to make an appeal.