What happens if we go away for a year and then come back?

[FannyBazaar]

Hypothetical question at the moment. I am considering my options and thinking about going abroad for a year with 8yo DS, this would involve school abroad. What happens when we come back though? Is there any chance a school would hold his place open? Does this vary according to area?

If we come back and he can't get a place at the same school, what are the LA obligations to offering a place? Just trying to envisage the nightmare situation of either not being able to go to work because DS has no school place or struggling to get him to school somewhere which would make easy commuting to work impossible.

There is no chance at all that the school would hold his place open. The rules say they simply cannot keep a place open for a year. If someone else wants the place it must be given to them.

The LA's obligation is to come up with a place at a suitable school a reasonable distance from home. Any primary school that admits boys would be considered suitable. Anything up to an hour's journey in each direction is considered to be reasonable. So your son would get a school place but it will almost certainly be at an unpopular school and could be some distance from home. If you don't get a place at your preferred school you can appeal. As your son is 8 you would have a better chance of success than you would appealing for an infants place.

Is his year group at his current school full?

I'd do it with my DS, but that's because his year group has nine spare places currently.

If it's an oversubscribed school (and most decent ones are these days) there is very little chance that there would be a place when you got back - your DS will be removed from the register for non-attendance within 4-6 weeks in most places, I think - so you would go on the waiting list with everyone else. Having previously been at the school would give you no priority, and anyone living closer to the school or with another child already there would be ahead of you in the waiting list.

Of course, this is the same situation faced by anyone moving back to the UK or just to a new area, and things do usually eventually fall into place, but you could find that your DS ends up at a different school that you would not have chosen for the rest of his primary schooling.

I moved to the UK in the middle of the academic year with a yr4 DS and 4yo DD just as applications were closing for the next year's reception places, and had to juggle finding a school place for DS and somewhere to live in time to apply for a reception place for DD. It did all work out, but it was a close-run thing, and very stressful. It would certainly make me think twice about taking a year out if there was only one decent school near my home and I had to take commuting arrangements into consideration.

Thanks.

The school is full, it's the closest school to us but I wouldn't say it's the best. My only reasons for wanting him to go back was to provide a sort of continuity. Maybe changing to another local school wouldn't be a bad thing but need to be able to fit it with work/childcare.

I was thinking of taking him out for a whole academic year so returning in September. I wonder if that makes it easier?

Fanny, it doesn't make it any easier because getting in anywhere is still contingent on their being a place. It may be slightly more likely there's a place in September as people moving away may time their moves for the summer holidays, but it's still possible there will be no place.

Their = there

Ours is a popular and oversubscribed school but in KS2 there's always at least one space in each year group. So talk to the school office and see how likely there will be a place in Y5 or Y6 (not sure what year he would be in when you get back). But then is go for it. A year overseas would be a great experience and there are never any guarantees in anything. The only sure thing is that the LA would have to offer a place somewhere although you might have to push them.

Another strange question, if I return to the UK at the beginning of August would that mean the LA would have 6 weeks in which to hopefully find a place in a nearby school or would it in all likelihood be no different to turning up in September when school starts?

All schools are full but it's a very transient area so places do come up.

In August the LA won't be able to contact any schools so they may not do a great deal about your application until the schools come back in September. So you may benefit from coming back in August but it may not make any difference.

You might do better to come back in mid July just before schools break up as the people I know who have given notice all did it a week or two before the end of term. If offered a place though he may need to start straight away.