Moving With Children Planner

Who this is for

The family side of the move, child by child. It tracks the school or nursery change, the records and registrations that follow each child, who looks after them on moving day and what gets them back into a routine.

Parents and carers moving with babies, school-age children or teenagers who want the admin for each child tracked alongside the rest of the move.

What this helps you track

• Each child's current and new school or nursery, and the start date
• Which transfer tasks are done for which child, and when
• Who has the children on moving day, where and for how long
• The small routines to restore in the first week
• What goes in each child's memory box from the old home

How to use it

1. Write the move date and each child's name, age, current school or nursery and the new one.
2. Work down the task grid, writing the date each task is done in that child's column; add rows for anything specific to your family.
3. Arrange moving-day care and fill in who has the children, where, and from and until when.
4. Tick the first-week routine list as bedtimes, meals and the school run settle.
5. Keep it on paper or in the browser version, which saves in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

When should the new school or nursery be contacted?

As early as the move is reasonably certain. How places are applied for and when differs by area and by school, so check the admissions arrangements with the local authority or the school itself rather than relying on a general rule.

What records follow a child?

Typically school records, health and immunisation records through the GP, dental records and any support plan. The grid lists the common ones; ask the current school and GP what they send and how.

Why a memory box?

Children often cope better when they have chosen something to keep from the old home: a photo of their room, a note from a friend, a drawing. The memory box row in the grid is for that list, filled in by them if they are old enough.

Does the sheet cover childcare costs?

No. It records who looks after the children and when. If you are paying for childcare during the move, put the cost in the moving budget spreadsheet.