Pushy parents make up relationship woe to get children in to best schools
Rise in cheating includes church attendance claims and using a childminder’s address on applications
PARENTS are faking marriage breakdowns to get their children into the best schools, an expert from The Good Schools Guide warns.
As more than half a million families in England find out today which primary school their child will go to in September, parents are resorting to “more creative” methods to boost their offspring’s chances.
Local council investigation departments and school admissions staff have become aware of suspicious behaviour, such as a families recently moving house or taking a short-term property lease near a school.
Annual reports compiled by the Office of the School Adjudicator indicate show that 267 offers were withdrawn on the basis of fraudulent applications in 2015-16.
“There are different types of fraud,” says Elizabeth Coatman, The Good Schools Guide’s state school specialist. “For example, bogus baptism certificates or faking a marriage breakdown.”
PARENTS are now faking marriage breakdowns to get their children into a top school amid a rise in admission fraud, an expert has warned.
As competition to secure places at the most sought-after schools has intensified, parents are increasingly resorting to fraudulent means to boost their chances, according to Elizabeth Coatman, state school specialist at The Good Schools Guide.
The warning comes as over half a million families in England learn which primary school their child will attend in September, on what is known as “national offer day”.
Local councils have become more vigilant in recent years, Ms Coatman said, with investigation departments trained to look out for anything suspicious, such as a family moving house.
School admissions departments are now much more alert to common tactics, such as taking out a short-term property lease close to a school. Another strategy is to cite the address of a grandparent, friend or a childminder as the pupil’s place of residence in order to appear within the catchment area.
“Parents have become more creative – maybe in response to local authorities being very tight now about addresses,” Ms Coatman said.
“There are different types of fraud. For example, faking a marriage breakdown to create a situation where a child can live part-time with each parent. There are also bogus baptism certificates and hiring private doctors to justify preferential treatment for a child’s needs. Schools often prioritise special needs children, but you need to have medical evidence.”
Annual reports compiled by The Office of the School Adjudicator indicate the scale of the problem, with 267 offers withdrawn on the basis of fraudulent applications in 2015-16. That year, 75 local authorities reported concerns about admissions fraud.
Many local councils have now set up anonymous hotlines for suspected school admissions fraud, as they encourage parents to be whistle-blowers.
Almost one in five (18 per cent) parents said they have spent extra on buying a house or renting a property to get in the school catchment zone, according to a Mumsnet poll that had quizzed over 1,000 users of the online parenting forum on the steps they have taken to increase the chance of their children being offered a place at a top school.
Four per cent said they had attended church or observed religious practices that they would not otherwise would not have done. A similar proportion said they bought a house close to a school in order to get the older child a place, then moved away again.
An official forecast published by the Department for Education (DFE) said the number of children in primary schools was projected to increase by 100,000 – a 2.2 per cent rise – by 2026.