to removed DS from school for the rest of term?

[RedSchoolBlueSchool]

Long story short: My DC are moving schools after Easter. lots of reasons but the main reason is eldest DS (Y4) has been bullied repeatedly and i don't feel his academic needs are being met.

I have school places for my younger DC at the chosen school, we are waiting for an appeal date for the eldest. I am obviously hoping the appeal comes through before easter however i was aware that DS may miss the first two weeks next term while we wait for the appeal as I will not send him back to his current school.

Things have got worse where he is - several incidents of violence in the playground (one of which has left a bruise). In addition we had arranged for him to have a table of his own in class so he could move away from the rest of the class if he was feeling frustrated/picked on/distracted. i find out today that this is now being used for a display and he has been in trouble today for pushing his classmate away from him after being kicked. the TA who was covering as his teacher is away then told DS 'you're the problem'. My boy is broken, he is a shadow of his former self and everything, even little things are getting to him at school now.

So basically WIBU to withdraw him immediately and keep him home until the appeal for the new school? (we have a back up place at a third school if the appeal fails).

What are the ramifications if i do this? Can i just tell his school that i am withdrawing him with immediate effect and that be the end of it? do i have to register as home educating or something for the interim?

anyone got any advice?

what department do i need at the LA?

I would be very cautious about taking off roll and how it affects LEA responsibility for providing school place. Look before you leap

De-registering does'nt affect the LA's responsibility to offer a school place if you remain on the waiting lists. Its diffetent from ehe full time. We were recorded as ehe but my daughter remained on the waiting list until we won our appeal. You have to fill in an in year transfer form and request that you wish to remain on the waiting list. It didn't affect my daughters place on the list at all. The LA will contact the OP when the children are removed from the roll.

OP, you need the Elective Home Education team. Your local admissions should have their number.

I withdrew my 14 year old from school about 14 years ago , he was deeply unhappy there , at the end of his first year at the scondary school I was told that in the past they would have labelled him as educationally subnormal , I was completely taken aback at that and when I asked why they said it was because he couldnt read ...........he most certainly could read , the class had apparently been given a task that involved reading or aswering questions on what thaey had been reading our loud in front of the whole class , and because he couldnt cope with that he decided not to read ...........and because of that they labelled him as educationally sub normal !! I lost all faith in the school system all those years ago , and from what I hear it is just getting worse
My son was much happier , he is pretty bright by the way , he has lost out on friendships I fear , but he struggled with that at school anyway as he got older , plus the age I took him out wouldnt have helped .He is still a bit of a loner but does have friends he goes out with occsionally , works hard and has over 40k saved towards a house .......so he is doing alright !

1 million % take him out of the school he is in, register as home ed , just to avoid the fines and court appearances

What is the basis of your appeal? Be aware that the 'back up' school space could go at any time.

appeal basis: siblings in school, music facilities, faith school so more in keeping with our family views, a unique outdoor play initiative which would particularly suit his personality.

I havent mentioned the bullying aspect in the form...maybe i shoul have? i was trying to keep the focus on why this school is right for him, not why we're moving him in the first place.

ifart thank you. on hold with the in year admissions team at the moment to see if they can offer any advice.

I have no idea how the system works. But this week he could just be ill. If you still don’t have an answer he could then be refusing to go to school. A boy in dds class refused to go to school for over a year. Hopefully by the time the school starts chasing you to get him back the appeal will have been successful and your ds will have changed schools.

I am not an admissions expert and there are some brilliant admissions experts on these boards but those don't seem like very strong grounds for appeal.

Don't send him back. It is not long to the easter holidays, given what you have told us can you speak to the GP and keep him at home due to stress? I would be tempted to get some support for his stress levels via the GP and keep at home until the holidays begin.

You can still work every day, and all the visits you had planned, but this will save the hassle of going through the de registering process.

In year admissions can’t say if it would have an effect on the appeal, the official line is not to take him out. If I do I need to be able to explain why at the panel. I just want to do the best for him.

lemons what would be good reasons?

Having siblings in school is usually a very strong reason. And I am surprised that you need to appeal at all given that fact. Siblings are usually at the top of any admissions criteria. But perhaps the school is full?

Appeals are usually for mistakes in the application process. But as it's in year admission it's probably different. Good luck.

I really suggest you post on one of the education boards as there are some real experts who could help you out.

Askmehow - my assumption is that the school is full in Y4 hence the appeal in which case siblings are irrelevant.

Yes school is full in y4. Head mentioned that the panel normally look more favourably on sibling appeals.

I think you should ring your LEA to discuss this. Every area is slightly different and taking advice from here may inadvertently result in it turning into a more difficult process.

I would be discussing the class incident in a meeting with the teacher and head.

You also need to set up some counselling for your son. Being bullied can cause the victim to behave in a way that causes them to continue to be a victim in the next school.

Please get a book on how he can deal with it. There's one called how to handle bullies teasers and other meanies. Read it with him. It gives excellent strategies that work.

First make a complaint. Then remove your child. You are forcing your child to confront these bullies everyday. Bullies are also in the form of adults. The fact the TA said this comment in front of the class is bullying! It is your responsibility to take care of your child until he can take care of himself.