How long will they keep a school place open for absent child?

[Hersetta]

Asking just for interest and have no vested interest at all.

A classmate of DC1 (yr 1) has been absent from school since september. The childs father lives overseas and I believe is very ill. The child and mother went to visit him and have not returned to the UK. The child has been enrolled in a private school in the father's home country. How long will the school or local education dept keep the UK school place open given that the school is oversubscribed with a long waiting list?

In our borough it's 6 weeks unless there are extenuating circumstances.

I'd have thought until the parents confirm they don't want the place.

Unless the school initiate proceedings for the place to be taken away.

No longer than half a term... it depends how over-subscribed the school is and how close to Census (funding) day it is!

In my LEA it's indefinitely - we have a pupil who has just joined us and who has only been in school 12 days since January ....

Well situation has been resolved - new pupil started in DC1's class yesterday. I guess it was around six weeks, or a whole half term as was the case.

I knew one boy who joined my DS's school for two terms; he was living with his Father whilst his mother was undergoing treatment for Breast cancer. After two terms, and he treatment had finished he moved back to his mother and old school. So I think they kept the place open (or he was readmitted after an appeal).