You must use your child’s main place of residence at the closing date for applications.
This means:
- the address where your child lives permanently
- if parents live separately, the address of the parent where the child spends most school nights at the application deadline.
School nights are: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, as your child will normally travel to school from that address the following day.
You may only give one address for your child on your application.
If you're unsure which address should be used, email admissions@medway.gov.uk before submitting your application.
You must not use a temporary address on your application. Examples of a temporary address include:
- the address of a friend or relative
- a property you intend to move to but have not yet moved into
- a property you own but your child does not live at most school nights
- an address where your child does not live for the majority of school nights.
Temporary or future addresses will not be accepted.
If you're moving address
Moving before the application closing date
If you move before the closing date and your child is living permanently at the new address by that date, you must apply using the new address and be able to provide evidence if requested.
Moving after the application closing date
If you're moving after the application closing date, you must use your current address on your application, even if the move is planned or about to happen.
Once you have proof of when you'll be moving, you must send proof of the new address to the local authority you applied to.
Your address can only be updated for allocation purposes if your move both takes place and is fully evidenced by:
- 7 December 2026 for secondary applications
- 11 February 2027 for primary applications.
If your move takes place after that date and you do not notify the relevant local authority until after that date, we'll:
- continue to use the original address given on your application to calculate distances
- only update your address after National Offer Day.
Proof of address
We may ask you to provide evidence to confirm where your child is living. The documents must show that the address is your child’s main place of residence at the time of application.
What documents we'll ask for and accept will depend on your circumstances.
Examples of documents we may ask you to provide include:
- a current Council Tax bill showing liability at the address
- utility bills such as gas, electricity or water. These should show regular use
- tenancy agreement
- exchange of contracts or completion statement where a property has been bought
- GP or NHS letters showing registration at the address
- child benefit or HMRC letters addressed to the parent at the address.
We may also ask you for further supporting evidence, including:
- evidence of day‑to‑day living arrangements, such as travel patterns to school
- official letters from a government body dated within the application period
- evidence relating to wraparound care or services used from the address.
All documents must be dated within the application period and must clearly link the family to the address used on the application.
The following evidence does not automatically confirm residence:
- a tenancy agreement or proof of ownership without evidence of living there
- letters without dates or dated outside the application period
- temporary accommodation arrangements
- the address of a friend or relative
- a statement from a friend or relative
- an address you intend to move to but were not living at when you applied.
Additional address checks
We may carry out additional checks if there is reason to doubt whether a child is living at the address given on the application.
This can include situations where:
- a recent tenancy has been taken out shortly before or after the application deadline
- a child continues to attend a primary school that is an unreasonable distance from the address used on the secondary application
- travel arrangements appear inconsistent with the child living at that address on a day‑to‑day basis.
In these cases, we may ask for further evidence to confirm where your child is actually living, not just where accommodation has been rented or owned.
A tenancy agreement or property ownership alone does not always confirm residence.
If we're not satisfied that the address used is your child’s main place of residence at the time of application, we'll:
- use the address we believe to be genuine when allocating school places
- reject your application and advise you to apply to your home local authority if we think you live outside of Medway.
If you give false information
If you're offered a school place based on false information, the school place will be withdrawn and it will be offered to another child.
You'll be left without the originally offered school place.
If any part of your application is thought to be false, we'll verify details such as address information with other relevant agencies.
Report false information
If you believe someone has provided false information on a school application, email admissions@medway.gov.uk. Your information will be treated confidentially.
We're unable to share the outcome of investigations.