Leaving and returning to a school?

[cazza]

Has any parent on the forum taken a child out of a local primary school and been able to return their child to the same school a few yrs later? We have the opportunity with my husbands work to live overseas for a few yrs.... and this would be a fantastic opportunity experience for us all. When we return our second child will be of primary school age.

Do we go back on to a waiting list (for the first child) once we have given up their place?

Is it a head teacher or a southwark education dept issue?

On our return, if my second child gets a place at the school will my first child get a sibling place automatically?

Sorry about all the questions.... schooling seemed so much easier when I was a child in the 70s. Kids seemed to come and go! Any advice would be most welcomed, I'm not sure where to start with all this.

[prickle]

We had a similar situation to you a few years ago.

We found that the school will not keep places open for you once you leave (unless for a month or two with special permission). We were told that the child will go back into the queue as if he/she had never been at the school. They told me its a question of fairness. This was all in discussion with the headteacher.

After much angsting we decided not to go as the job was only for max 2 years. This fact being one of the many factor that fed into decision.

Good luck, its a fantastic opportunity, feel free to pm me if you want any more info

[espelli]

What Prickle describes is the same for all local authority schools.

To answer your other question, your older child will only get a place if there is a space in their year group - even if your younger child gets a place in Reception. The sibling places usually only apply to children entering the school at Reception who have older siblings already in the school and not for in-year admissions, although the school will run the waiting lists for Year 1 and above so may well give a sibling preference.

Children do still move in and out of schools (and it is not as stressful as the Reception application system), it might be worth asking the Head at your child's school what the mobility is and how many places they have or whether they are full in all year groups. This may enable you to make your decision with a bit more information about your particular school.

Hope this helps!

[Fuschia]

The normal admission criteria apply, including sibling preference

However, class sizes cannot be exceeded by law in early years/ks1

If you live very near the school, your chances are good

If you are a bit further away, it's likely to be problematic

[cazza]

Thank you all for your help. Will speak with the head and go from there.

[nymom]

Hi,

I don't have any experience with the leaving school issue. However, I do teach in an International school and find that the students really have some amazing experiences that they would not otherwise have had, interacting with students of other cultures and nationalities. I know there is a lot more to it than that, but just wanted to say what a wonderful experience it might be for you as a family.

[simonethebeaver]

My husband moved to the area with his kids when they were year 5 and year 1. He asked around local schools. There were loads of year 5 vacancies but not many year 1. However, once he'd picked a school (one of the hardest to get into in Reception we now know) for the year 5 vacancy, the year 1 child then jumped the waiting list on the sibling rule and got straight in. The population round here is very mobile so spaces in the higher years are fairly common.

[malwood]

We returned in summer of 2010 and I was immediately offered Heber or Goodrich for my year 4 and year 6. Year 9 got into Charter after an agonizing 2 week wait in September with no school. These are all popular schools, so just goes to show how much movement there is.

[cazza]

That's good to know - so it's not impossible to return! Maybe I can sleep more easy at night now. Thanks everyone :)