Should you take your children to property viewings? For a first look round, it is usually easier to go without them, or with a second adult to keep them busy, so you can concentrate on the condition of the house and your questions for the agent. For a second viewing of a home you are serious about, bringing them along is often worth it: you see how the house works for your family, and they feel part of the move.
This guide sets out the pros and cons, how to make a viewing with children go smoothly and safely, and what to plan once you have found the right home, including school places in Cambridgeshire, where the council's deadlines for proof of a new address can affect when you need to exchange contracts.
Book first viewings during school or nursery hours, take turns with your partner, or ask a relative or friend to look after the children. Use the photos and floorplans on our property listings to shortlist before you go, so the viewings you do make are the ones that count.
A second viewing is the time to check the details, and to see how the family fits. Take a list of what to look for, such as the points in our property viewing checklist, and let the children explore the rooms that would be theirs while one adult carries on checking the rest.
Older children can come to more viewings, and can be genuinely helpful. Ask them to look at the area too: the walk to school, where friends could meet, and how they would get around without a lift.
Look at the area as well as the house: parks, the school run and the commute. Our Cambridge area guides can help.
A house you are viewing will not have the safety measures you have at home, so keep young children with you. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) highlights several hazards worth watching for:
On a new-build development, ask the sales team about site rules before you go, and keep children away from any area still under construction.
If your child is starting school or moving up to secondary school in September 2027, apply through Cambridgeshire County Council if you live in the county. Secondary applications close on 31 October 2026, with offers on 1 March 2027. Primary applications close on 15 January 2027, with offers on 16 April 2027. Living in a school's catchment does not guarantee a place if the school is oversubscribed.
The council allocates places from your child's main residence. A future move only counts if it is confirmed and you can prove it, for example with a solicitor's letter confirming exchange of contracts, or a tenancy agreement signed by both tenant and landlord. The council's 2027 to 2028 booklets say at least six months, though its online FAQ says six school weeks, so check with the admissions team if renting. A sale agreed is not on the council's list of acceptable proof. Proof must be in the applicant's name and dated within three calendar months of the application. For secondary places, the new address must be your child's permanent home when places are offered on 1 March 2027 and when they start in September 2027.
If proof arrives late, the application may not be considered from the new address until the second round of allocations. Second round offers are due on 23 April 2027 for secondary places and 24 May 2027 for primary. If a school place matters to your purchase, tell your solicitor early and plan your exchange date around these deadlines. Our guide to the best schools in Cambridge covers catchments and admissions in more detail.
Moving schools outside the normal September entry is an in-year admission. For most Cambridgeshire schools you apply through the council's online parent portal:
The council also asks families to think carefully before a mid-year move: children may miss or repeat parts of the curriculum, may not be able to keep the same GCSE options, and brothers or sisters have no automatic right to a place at the new school.
Many families aim to move during a school holiday, so children are not changing home and settling into a new class in the same week. Do not let the calendar push you into the wrong house, though. If you need to sell before you buy, getting a valuation of your current home early helps you set a realistic budget and timetable.
Explain the move simply and positively, at a level that suits their age, and give them time to ask questions. Let them help decide what to keep when you declutter, choose something for their new room, and visit the new area with you before moving day.
Our moving day checklist covers the rest of the day.
Get back to normal routines for meals and bedtime as quickly as you can, explore the area together and register with a new GP if you need to. Walk round the new house with RoSPA's advice in mind: keep beds and furniture away from windows, make sure upstairs windows lock or have restrictors, fit stair gates at the top and bottom of the stairs for children under two, check that every blind cord and chain is secured out of reach, and decide what to do about any garden pond.
School admission rules are set each year and depend on your circumstances, so check the current council booklet and speak to the Cambridgeshire admissions team about your own application.
For first viewings, it is usually better to go without them so you can focus. For a second viewing of a home you are serious about, bringing them helps you see how the house works for your family and helps them feel involved.
No, but tell the agent beforehand, keep the children with you, and ask them not to touch the seller's belongings.
A school holiday usually causes the least disruption. If a school place depends on your new address, Cambridgeshire's proof-of-address deadlines matter more: before 1 December 2026 for September 2027 secondary places (before 24 November 2026 if you name a school outside Cambridgeshire), and before 31 January 2027 for primary.
Only if the move is confirmed and you can prove it, for example with a solicitor's letter confirming exchange of contracts or a signed tenancy agreement, sent to the council before its deadline.
Make an in-year application through Cambridgeshire County Council with proof of your new address, naming three schools. Some schools, such as Parkside and Coleridge community colleges, take in-year applications directly.
Involve them before the move, set up their room first, keep favourite things close at hand, get back to normal routines quickly and explore the new area together.
