AIBU to not know what to do about his schooling?No school place , in limbo.

[mamamia2020]

We're in a really weird situation.

We returned to the UK in December after living overseas, pushed by the pandemic. My eldest son had an operation in September 2019 that meant he was homeschooled for 5 months. When he was due to go back, the schools shut due to covid. I've continued to homeschool him up until we departed in December, partly to put more emphasis on the English language in preparation.

We applied for a secondary school place in October, but the council sent the rejection letter to the wrong address so I didn't find out he had no school place until I called chasing his application.
I quickly sent in an application to another school on the 17th December and have heard nothing back yet, I think because of the lockdown they are taking the maximum number of days to respond. So he is currently somewhat of a lost child. No school place but I am homeschooling him as best as I can in-line with KS3 work but with no support from anywhere. Even if they give him a space...he'll still be homeschooling only by teachers that don't know him or his capabilities. I believe that in the UK you have 20 school days to take up a school place. Would I be best to stretch out his admission date as long as possible in the hope that by the time he joins the school he will be able to attend in person?

Is anybody else out there in the same situation? Homeschooling, not through choice but because they are awaiting a school place?

"Taking up the school place" doesn't mean the place is at risk if he can't he attend in physical location due to lockdown.

The LEA does have the obligation to provide a place and will do so. It might well be a school that is a long way from your home and so lockdown is slightly insulating you from the worst of that - he will at least be able to access whatever online teaching and support that school offers but won't have the nightmare commute. If it's not a great school you can accept that place and still apply to be considered for other more desirable schools if places become available, and in the absence of lockdown you would have a massive dilemma if that was successful- keeping him at the undesirable school that he has been at for 12 weeks and is beginning to get used to vs the upheaval of starting again at a better school. Without and in-person teaching that would be an easier decision.

I had a similar situation when I came back to the UK. No pandemic making it worse though.

My LEA couldn't/wouldn't find my dd a school place. They wouldn't tell me where there were places and I had to contact each school and often they said that they couldn't tell me so I had to apply and find out that way. It was a farce. Admissions were absolutely rubbish.

Have you contacted the individual schools?

Also, look into Fair access protocol.