To move dc school or stay put?

[owlsintheflowerpatch]

Dc1 has been unhappy at school for some time for a variety of reasons getting very upset to the point we saw the gp. We stayed put because quite frankly they offer good lunch time support unavailable at the other places we had looked at so i persuaded dc to stay.
Their reaction recently to a serious incident has made me feel i don't have faith in the school anymore and dc is refusing to go back after Easter.

The problem is dc wants to apply for a 14 plus place for year ten. The school don't take younger children. So if i moved now (Easter of year 8) they would be applying this September for a year ten place next year.

I'm very reluctant to move them now to move them again next year.

So do i leave put in a school neither of us trust until then.
Move and then move again for the 14 plus place
Or home ed till we know if she has a 14 plus place and face what happens if she doesn't get in then

Help!

[shouldwestayorshouldwego]

Would you stay in a job for over a year if you were miserable and you had other choices? I think that you know when you get to the end of your time at a school and 18 months will be a long time in that situation.

[TimeToMoveOnNow]

I wouldn't home ed unless there was no other option as that may raise issues later with your DD fitting back into the school system at a very important time for her GCSE's especially if she's finding it hard now.

If she's being bullied at her current school (I would not countenance my DC enduring that) I would move her straight away and worry about Year 10 later, she may be happier and decide not to leave.

If the issues are not bullying and it is a general anxiety about school (leading to school refusal) or SN not being met, then I would take it up officially with the school asking what support is place for her and if they are not doing enough, put in an official complaint. School have a duty of care, including emotional and social aspects, to all DC while they are at school Get whatever you can in place to keep her there until Yr 10.

I am going through a similar situation with a DC in Yr9. He will be moving in Yr10 to a similar school as your DC. I'm pulling out all the stops and making a bit of fuss to keep him there until then!

[chaosagain]

I think the 14 plus place may be less sure than you think. If it's a studio school or a university technical college, the policy winds are apparently changing on that and they may not be around in a couple of years...
Sounds like a long time to be miserable where they are now....

[kawliga]

I agree with pp that it seems a very long time to wait in a school where dc is not happy.

I know logistics are important too, but what do you mean by 'good lunch time support'?

[owlsintheflowerpatch]

They have a room they use at lunch which provides activity, toys and pastoral support for those who would not cope on the playground.
It is the only reason dc are there.

Chaos can you elaborate on UTCs? It is a UTC they were considering at 14.

[kawliga]

OK, the lunch time support is important, but there may be ways around that, e.g. a local childminder who can pick her for lunch time? If you are able to home-ed, are you able to pick her up for lunch? I know it's a logistical nightmare, but this is what I do with my dd. She is able to cope with the playground but it is a challenge for her and I don't put her through it unless there's no option.

I think only Alpha-type children truly thrive in playgrounds. What a nightmare. I well remember it from my own school days.

[chaosagain]

UTCs are failing to recruit a sufficient intake at 14 to make them financially viable - as a national picture. There's a very good reason for this. When a child moves from a mainstream secondary they take their funding with them. Unless you're in an area with huge pressure on places, schools can't replace that funding. Lose 6 or 7 kids at 14 and you've just about lost a teacher's salary in funding.. Secondary schools are therefore failing to promote them at best (or being actively hostile to them or using them as places to pass off their less academic students..)
UTCs are closing at a slightly startling rate. DfE are strangely quiet on the topic when they were shouting about them 2 years ago.
They were also set up not necessarily in response to local need or pressure on places (as happens when you bypass local authority involvement). One or two UTCs are doing well in recruitment but most are well under the number of pupils they need to work. I hope you're looking at one of the thriving ones!

[chaosagain]

If you're planning to apply there I'd be asking senior staff about how many students they've planned for, how many they have, what the year on year trend is in applications and whether they see it as a viable situation..