School place application process (England) after home ed

[DobbinReturns]

We had huge issues with our local school due to a rather fraught situation with DS3 who has SEND and an EHCP. The LA accepted that the relationship between home and school had broken down and named a different school. We named wanted an independent special and recently won at tribunal. DS3 is due to start after half term. The LA were supposed to be providing tuition for DS3 but it didn't actually happen. This is just backstory to try and explain. There was also a horrible report submitted by the LA EP where the head allegedly said things about us which were not true, and we were able to prove it.

Because of the situation with the school and not knowing where DS3 might end up placed at, we decided to de-registered DS4 and electively home educate. He is Yr1. There really is no way back with the local school.

Most of the schools in the area are over sub-subscribed and the only school likely to have space is the old school. I'm going to apply anyway and it allows 4 preferences, my concern is they will allocate the old school again even if I explain why he is not going to go back there. Will anyone actually look at the application or will it just be a case of us being assigned the nearest school, regardless of us saying anywhere but? If they do offer the old school, will that school be informed we've been offered a space?

It wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't restricted to putting down 4 schools at a time. There's about 10 more schools within 10 miles.

They don't seem to have to hold waiting lists from what I can gather. 1 school has said we can stay on the interested list (which they clear end of each term).

Realistically there's very little chance of getting into the nearest schools because there's so much housing development so there's a lot of in year applications going in who will be higher priority admission.

I'm going to investigate the school the LA had tried to close. I'm a bit back on forth on it because it's very small (under 60 pupils r-Yr6) and, somewhat ironically, undersubscribed. I'd hate to move him only for it to close.

Nearly all schools in this area are academy schools but the LA is the admitting authority as far as I can see. So does that mean the LA would definitely have the information?

An academy is always its own admissions authority. However, the LA co-ordinates admissions for all schools in the normal admissions round and some LAs also co-ordinate in-year admissions. Academies are required to keep the LA updated but that doesn't mean they will do so.

They don't seem to have to hold waiting lists from what I can gather.

They have to operate a waiting list for Reception until Christmas. Many schools do operate waiting lists for longe but there is no requirement for them to do so.

This would be easier if your son was a little older. Unfortunately, infant class size regulations apply in Y1. It is going to be very difficult to get a place for him at any school that is operating classes of 30 pupils.

I agree with Admission's post which sets out your options.

To update it, the admissions officer did come back with 3 schools that he said should have spaces.
They are all the same MAT as the old school, but as beggars can't be choosers, we asked to formally approach 1 and DS4 has now been allocated the school.

So it seems it is worth a push to ask for a list of school with spaces, in our LA anyway.