Moving House With Children

Getting a School Place Mid-Year

The School Admissions Code sets the rules for applying outside the normal September round. Parents must not be refused the chance to make an application, or be told they can only go on a waiting list. Once an in-year application is in, the admission authority should aim to tell you the outcome in writing within 10 school days, and must do so within 15. If a place is refused, it must give the reason and explain your right to appeal.

In Manchester, in-year applications go through Manchester City Council. The council's form asks for at least three schools, and children who have moved into the city without a school place have their own priority category. Manchester keeps a child on a school's waiting list for one term only, after which you reapply, so put a reminder in the diary if your first choice is full.

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  Apply as soon as you have the new address, not after you move.

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  List at least three schools on the Manchester form.

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  Note the date the waiting list place runs out, and reapply.

GP and Dentist

Registering with a GP is simpler than many people expect. The NHS says adults do not need ID, proof of address or proof of immigration status to register. Children under 16 are usually registered by a parent or guardian on a separate form, and for a child you may be asked for proof of ID and address, such as a birth certificate, and to show you are the parent or guardian.

Keep the birth certificates in the box that travels with you rather than in the van, because they are the documents a new surgery is most likely to ask for. NHS dental treatment is free for children under 18, and for young people under 19 in full-time education.

Child Benefit and the Other Records

HMRC needs to know when you move. Its guidance is direct: if you do not report a change of address and HMRC is not able to contact you, your Child Benefit payments will stop. One change of address service covers Child Benefit along with Income Tax and National Insurance, so it is a single job.

Free school transport in England depends on the distance between home and school, so a new address can change whether a child qualifies. If your child gets it now, check again with the new council once the move date is fixed.

Running Moving Day Around Them

A moving day with small children goes better with fewer people in the house. If a grandparent or friend can take them for the morning while the crew loads, the job is quicker and the stairs are safer. If they are staying, give them one room that is packed last and loaded last, with their own things in a bag that goes in your car.

At the new house, ask the crew to put the children's beds up first, so bedtime is in a room that looks like theirs. Our house removals can include taking beds apart and rebuilding them, and a packing service takes the slowest rooms off your hands in the week before. If you are leaving a rented home, sort the deposit and check-out before the last day, so it is not competing with the children for your attention.