In year transfer/not wanting to go to old school

[Pawtucketbrew]

After having tried for 4 years in DDs current primary and her being very unhappy I started to move for an in year transfer in the summer term. We are currently not at our nearest school and have put our nearest school plus two others nearish on the list. At the moment our nearest and preferred school we are next in line and school is known for high turnover (although nothing guaranteed).

DDs mental health is not good at all (seeing private psych, on CAMHS waiting list) and I feel the situation at her old school is untenable (low level bullying eroding DDs self esteem, keep talking to school and nothing gets done).

DD is adamant she does not want to return to that school in Sep and I can see the anxiety building in her already. I feel like we have a good chance to get in to our preferred in the next couple of months and would be willing to home school for a short period (I can WFH and my boss is understanding). However, if I tell her old school that we are not attending there anymore does this take me out of the system? I am really not sure what to do. The thought of sending DD back to that school for a few weeks/months is very stressful.

I hope this makes sense, thanks for any advice. In a nutshell I want to hold out for a space at local preferred school for next school year but this may not happen at start of term.

Choosing to home educate does not mean that the LA can remove you from waiting lists. Just be clear with the LA that you are home educating whilst waiting for a place.

You won't be out of the system and have just as much rights as anyone else to apply for a school place for a home-ed child. Why do you feel there will be a place "in the next couple of months" though? This could become more long-term than you are expecting if you are waiting for a place to come available.

It might be worth trying to talk to your preferred school on the first day of term. They may come back to find a message that a family has moved away over the summer, or someone may not turn up on the first day, with other kids saying "oh they've moved". It may take a little longer for it to be confirmed that the move has happened, and if it's a case of the child not turning up, they probably have to give it a fortnight before they can offer the place, but if you know it's probably coming, it makes things easier. (Of course the other think that might happen is someone moving in nextdoor to the scale and knocking your child down the list, unfortunately.)

I hope you get the place you're wanting. We had this with my DS and I stuck it out for too long. I found him lots of outside groups and activities where he could make friends and raise his self-esteem, but the bullying was untenable and the school was really no help. I think once it starts it often just gets worse and worse. At least that was how it was for us. I finally moved him mid-way through year 5 and the change was immediate. I don't know how it works with homeschooling, but it can take awhile to move and it's important to stay in the system. Also, the heads all know each other in our area of state primary schools so I had to be very careful when I was doing this process. I can't remember why, but I think once you put in for a transfer with the local authority the school is contacted.