home ed whilst waiting for a place

[Chikoletta]

We moved into new area in the summer and were offered a year 2 place at a local school that I dislike and think it won't suit my DC (undiagnosed SEN). It has quite a few places in that year group.

I have decided to home educate and feel we can do this for a term. We are on waiting list for 4 other schools and am praying we get offered a place. Unfortunately these schools are small in a tight knit community, plus housing market is slow. Also a very small local school is closing at Xmas, these kids will have places allocated near Xmas.

Is there anything I can do to get my DC in one of these schools, other than just wait it out? Do I need to tell the LA that we are home ed?

What are the admissions criteria for your preferred schools?
Realistically the only things you can do to move up the waiting list is probably get your DC diagnosed and/or get an EHCP in place - or move closer.

I would plan to home educate for the full year though as it will be easier to get a place in Year 3 as class sizes aren't legally limited to 30.

If you decline the place in the school offered, at some point the LA will contact you and ask what you are doing for education. You can contact them first and tell them that you are home educating though.

There is information here www.gov.uk/home-education

You need to plan for a year, if they are closing another school, then you may find even the offered school is full come January. Are there any other schools that you can get to which have spaces?

No unfortunately, I don't have access to a car so am limited as to where I can physically take DC..if we were offered a school 2 miles away we would be offered transport so might happen upon a school further afield.

Not necessarily - the wording is ‘the nearest suitable school and…the school is more than two miles away and the child is under 8’.

If the school you’ve turned down is nearer, you may not be eligible for free transport at a school further away. It also changes to three miles aged 8.

You say the LA offered you a local school, how far from your home was that? In most cases once they have offered you a school they have fulfilled their sufficiency duty. If you then rejected the offer and placed your child in a school situated further away from your home, you would usually receive no help with home to school transport.

The school they have offered is just over a mile away. I haven't formally accepted or registered at the school, and haven't officially de-rolled in previous school (different LA).

Can I expect anything else from them or is that it?