Would you homeschool for a term in this situation?

[Bumblebeezy]

We moved overseas in September as my husband was required by his employer to do a 2 year secondment. Our kids have been happy in an international school but our 10 year old found the transition to somewhere new tough.

Due to the Brexit shitshow it now appears that the secondment is being cut short, and we'll be back in the UK from Easter.

Good timing in one respect as the 10 year old can start secondary school in September if we can find him a place, but crap timing in that there is one pesky term of yr 6 left.

I haven't spoken to the LA yet as we have only just found out about the move this weekend- I guess there is a small chance that there might be space left at his old school which would work (other than him having to sit SATS with no preparation) but if not, I'm thinking homeschooling for the summer term might be the kindest option. To throw him into another new school only to have him have to cope with another big school move in September would be hugely detrimental I think.

Any thoughts or advice welcomed.

Are there any options that go all through or end at 13 instead was to avoid two new schools and issues with finding a place at 11?

Sensitive & shy makes me think I'd talk it thru with my child what he wanted.
That said, I feel horror at thought of HE so still might be unhappy to give him a choice (selfish cow mother, I suppose).

Maybe talk thru how to make it as gentle an experience as possible.

I would probably put him in school after the SATs so he can make friends before high school other wise it’s a long time out of school worrying about making friends.

I have already had a long talk with him about it all. His strong preference is to go back to the same school he left in July (he attended there since reception). His second choice would be to homeschool. He is very worried about moving to a completely new school and then having to start at yet another new school again. He found the move overseas REALLY hard and I think that is where all the anxiety is coming from. His sibling is a completely different kettle of fish and doesn't batter an eyelid.,

I hadn't really considered the fact that he'd be with some of his peers at a new primary and it's a really valid point. He'll already know children at secondary from his old school so either way he'll have friendly faces, but I'll speak with him again about the fact that some new friends at a new school would be 'for keeps' as it might change his perspective on it all.

Will speak to the LEA in the morning. Would certainly make life easier if there was space for him to slot back into his old class but it may well be full now.

Thanks again for all the input, it is genuinely useful!!

If you move back, will you be in catchment for his old school?

Yes we would be in catchment. Also in catchment for two other primaries though.

If you are in an area with an active home Ed community I’d say have fun, go for it and do something different. At every secondary new friends are made and kids start not knowing people, it’ll make little difference.

If you don’t have a community though it could get boring when all the schools are in fun mode...

Feenie what is the definition of a non-English speaking country? Does it mean one where English is not the main language or not spoken at all?

Does it make a difference if the child has been taught at an International school?

Not sure what the dfe's definitions are - I've successfully removed the results of recently arrived children from Syria and Germany though. You have to state the country and the child's first language and they decide the rest.

Your son’s preferences seem entirely logical. I’d follow his wishes: apply to old school, and if they can’t take him then HE for a term.

When I moved back to the UK, there was no pressure whatsoever for me to get my dc into a school. Nobody knows they are there, you are off the grid!

You will probably be able to find out from the school if there is a place. Then if there isn’t you will be able to just fly under the radar. In the meantime you will be able to join clubs, teams etc in the area and pick up some of the friendships from before.

but MNers all seem 2 send their kids to hothouses).

I’m sure like me, many mners have had little choice about what school to send their children to, after all, you have the opportunity to express a preference, but that’s it. The fact that so many of these schools are hothouses is hardly the mners fault.... I would lay the responsibility on the Department for Education myself.

It’s worth knowing that there are schools that do prioritise the sats results over almost everything else.
Fortunately the OP. Knows the old primary school already and will be in a position to judge if this is an important factor.

I think there might be a problem of sending him anywhere if the schools are full. However I would contact your old primary and see if he could go back there. If they have a policy of never going over admission number they may not take him because it sets a prescedent for future admissions appeals. Did they fill his place? Ask them.

I’m not sure I would bother with another primary for one term. I would, though, make sure he reconnected with old friends. He doesn’t need new ones, he just needs to re-establish his old ones. That would give a better base for moving on to secondary although you won’t know which one. So whatever happens there, disappointment could lie ahead.

I know people where DH worked abriad for 2 years and family stayed in uk. Sometimes stability is best.

'I know people where DH worked abiad for 2 years and family stayed in uk. Sometimes stability is best'

Bit late now @BubblesBuddy**

Well yes. You wouldn’t have found it easy looking for a school place for y8 either. However you have the problems you have.

OP, you will find the KS2 curriculum here:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum

One possible scenario, if your previous primary has filled your DS's place, is that they will turn down the application (particularly if there is a waiting list - if they can just randomly take a child over PAN, they should have offered places from there) but would not present a strong case for prejudice at appeal. Having to go to appeal would delay the possible chance of a place, but as you have indicated that you are willing and able to home educate in preference to sending your DS to a different school, presumably this wouldn't be an issue and you can just get on with the home ed in the meantime?

If you do home educate, make the most of it and find places that allow special rates for home educators. Find groups that go to parks or woods or are having a trip to a science park. Not to mention the joy of going round a theme park with hardly any queues.

My choice would be to home educate. It is lovely to spend the time with them.

I'd definitely keep him at home, there's loads of things you can do together. Year 7 anyway is about making sure everyone has learnt the same things and spotting gaps.

Would it be weird to home school him for a bit and send him back to his old school after sats?

I think SATS could be an issue. It's not the actual tests, it's the few weeks around that when he could feel a bit out of his depth at school, having his confidence dented unnecessarily if he can't give 3 examples of a fronted adverbial. He could make better use of that time doing much more interesting stuff with you. After the sats would be a great time to go back to school, catch up with old friends and teachers, and get his eye in to UK school again. He'd also get to go with people he knows on transfer day.

When we moved our DS was year 3 and we home schooled for a term. It was great to plug the gaps in his knowledge and he came
Out way ahead of where I thought he would. You need to find the right resources and make a timetable. There are gazillions of resources online. We also hired a tutor to do an assessment and tell us where the gaps were. That might help you aim at where to focus.

Do you know whether there is now a place for him at his old school? Many schools will be reluctant to enrol a new pupil just before SAtS as their results will impact in the school. The only way a child can be disapplied is if they have recently come from a non English speaking country, and are non English speaking themselves. I would look for a school plan every for after half term, where he will meet children who will be going to his secondary school. You may find it almost impossible to get him in a local secondary school now as the places will all have been allocated,

Bit of an update having spoken to LA who were surprisingly reassuring and helpful.

It should be possible to get a place at the old school, providing we move well into the catchment area. They weren't too worried about finding him a secondary school.

Need an address to start moving forward with it so busy cracking on with the rental search. The rental market is quite fast moving so suspect we will have to snap something up and potentially pay to rent it for a month or two before the move, rather than risk waiting. That's not the end of the world though.

Will worry about SATs if/when he gets a place. If he does get a place I'm leaning towards 'delaying the move' until they are finished. It doesn't sound like it is in anyone's interest for him to be thrown into SATs on his first day back.

Thanks again for everyone's input, it has been really useful.

Sounds a positive update. I would definately be avoiding the SATs - they are not in his best interest.