Schooling

[Nesty]

Hi, 'm nesty i'm a newbie although I do read through the conversations :)
Hopefully I'm posting in the correct place some advice would be very much appreciated.Anyway here goes sorry it's a bit long winded.

My DH was posted to an new regiment with very little notice and they brought forward his start date as our DS was due to start school.But by posting time obviously everyone had already been allocated their school places.

DS previously had an place allocated and was looking forward to starting with all of his friends.But DH was promoted and we had to move on.
Before we got here we were told the local school where all the army children go was full and that a place was available at another school which was 1.3 miles away.Which is an distance in itself as we only have 1 car and we have been housed 10 miles from DH'S camp so are walking.The school has also been a failing school for the last 3 years.It is in an high deprivation area and has lots of various problems that come with that.DH and I decided to put him in as initially we kept him home but he kept on about when was he going to school.
And being home with me is just not cutting it anymore he wants to be with his peers.
But now he is there he keeps crying in the mornings saying he doesn't want to go and that no one plays with him and that only the teachers are nice to him.
He has become very subdued says everyone hates him.
I've been making him go as I'm not sure if this is just due to him being new and he will settle.

All the other schools in the area have waiting lists as well and we'd be even further down the list.We can't afford a 2nd car so going further afield is not even an option.
Sorry for the long explanation but in short I need advice as to whether to take him out until September,but will possibly still be in the same position then when I'm legally bound to send him, or keep him in and wait out on a place coming up.In fact any advice would be good.
I was going to go down the appeal road but if this fails you have to wait an year before you can appeal again.
DH is due to be deployed next year so wanted to get it sorted before he went.
Or if anyone has had any experience with dealing with this sort of problem.

I have absolutely no experience in the military field, but I'm assuming your DS is still 4? if it's not compulsory that he attends school, he's not happy doing so, and you're available at home, I'd take him out.

My elder DS was a January baby, and in Scotland that meant he could start at 4.5 or wait till 5.5. The advice I got from The Authorities at the time was that if he started at 4.5 he"d be a complete academic failure. Ten years later, funding had changed,and my sister was told that her (very clingy) DS would be ruined if he didn't start at 4.5.

I decided for my 4.5 year old, my sister decided for hers. Mine has completed a degree, hers is still at school but doing well.

You know your child. You decide.

Nesty, welcome.

Have you spoken to CEAS? Here they know all the issues with schools for military children.

they should be able to advise better. Military children go to the top of the waiting lists, because of exactly the problem you had. Plus there is the 'pupil premium' and 'military covenant' to help. We had the same issue when DD was starting school, we weren't told about the posting until May, didn't move till Aug and of course all the local schools were full. DD got into a local church school in the end, one we had totally discounted and then surprise surprise a week later the closest school got spaces.

CEAS are able to help, they were great for us.

Sounds like HallowsEve may have the answer for you, which is great.
I just wanted to add that school is never compulsory, though education is.
You can home educate until you get a place in the right school, so check out the HE threads on here or google Education Otherwise.

How old is your son? We had this situation and you can appeal under special circumstances and you can also appeal transport (althoug be prepared for even more of a battle). CEAS are alays busy - leave them an email message rather than answer phone and they do tend to call back. Have you considered a four day weekly boarding school (military funded)?

CEAS will help but also go to the LEA and tell them you are a military family as Eve says you will go to the top of the waiting list if the LEA say you are not a special case then CEAS will tell you the exact words to quote to them. They are also allowed to go over their pupil numbers to accept a military child, CEAS will be able to point you to the right document with regard to this too. A friend of mine just got his DD into a oversubscribed grammar school using this. If you need to go to appeal then CEAS also have appeal experts that will come with you and put your case across for you (they are very good at winning).

Would also agree with merriedto you need to email CEAS as they are always busy, they will email back the same day or phone within 24 hours (its in their targets)

How are you getting on?

The child of a military family should be able to access exceptional circumstances under the Fair Access Protocol, and this in turn may gain you a place in a school that would normally be classed as full.

On the news today they have announced that children of military families will get spaces in the schools of their choice even if it pushes the numbers over the limit. (Think it's just primary schools). Not sure when it starts though!

LEA in my experience were terrible. I rang them for advice and support, they told me to find my school places and get back to them. When I rang back and told them I couldn't get a school to accept both children they said I would have to send them to different schools then. We ended up in a school quite a way away but it's a good school so the trip is worth it but I had to do it all on my own. COuldn't get a response from CEAS

Hope you have had better luck OP

kellamity yes but not until 2014 and how will it work in a garrison town? the best school will end up with a reception class of 45 or more when everyone moves in August after initial offers were given