Changing secondary schools

[Disney Jo]

Hi

I am just wondering if anyone has had to change their child's secondary school and how easy the process was and length of time it took?

My DD 13 has a few issues and she has suffered bad bullying and the support has not been great. At the moment she is leaving the house in tears and hiding in the SEN directors office to keep her safe. It is far from ideal. We are hoping that today some of this will be resolved, but for the past 3 years has not been great.

Lessons she struggles in and there is not too much support, she has picked her GCSE options (she's Year 9) and is doing them at the moment.

The school we would like to move her from was our second choice (it was hard deciding between the two) and it appears they do have room for her to move to it. It has a lot of special needs children, the classes are a lot smaller and from an outsider it looks like it could be the better option. I have spoken to a few mums from the school and there reports are great. They also do a lot of vocational qualifications rather then GCSE's which would suit our DD more - including hair and beauty which at the moment is the direction she wants to go in. They don't start there GCSE's until year 10 so if we manage to move her before September then she will be starting at the same time as the new school.

I was wondering if anyone has had to move their child to a different school and was the process smooth and a rough timescale? We are on the verge of starting the process.

[Dazed]

I moved my 4th child but through a different process to you.

If the school has a place you can move in a matter of days/a week. It is a very simple process when a space is available. You call the school, ask for the place, fill out the forms, wait for the school to confirm your child has the place and accept it. They will give you a start date, you inform your daughters current school by email/in writing and give her last day.

You then get down to the uniform shop, grab what you can and you’re all set!

Edited to add: I’m so sorry to hear your daughter is going through this. I’ve only been through it with one of my children and I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone. My son moved schools in Year 9 and it was the best thing he did! He loved his new school, made some great friends, never ever got picked on and is now thriving at college and has a nice social life.

[Disney Jo]

Originally Posted by Dazed

I moved my 4th child but through a different process to you.

If the school has a place you can move in a matter of days/a week. It is a very simple process when a space is available. You call the school, ask for the place, fill out the forms, wait for the school to confirm your child has the place and accept it. They will give you a start date, you inform your daughters current school by email/in writing and give her last day.

You then get down to the uniform shop, grab what you can and you’re all set!

Edited to add: I’m so sorry to hear your daughter is going through this. I’ve only been through it with one of my children and I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone. My son moved schools in Year 9 and it was the best thing he did! He loved his new school, made some great friends, never ever got picked on and is now thriving at college and has a nice social life.

See more...

Thank you so much for replying, I really hope the process will be as quick as you experienced. We was thinking it might be May half term at best (we thought we might have to wait until a holiday).

I am in tears reading how well things have gone for your son, it clearly was the best thing you did. I have everything crossed this will be the same outcome for our DD as well.

[Dazed]

Originally Posted by Disney Jo

Thank you so much for replying, I really hope the process will be as quick as you experienced. We was thinking it might be May half term at best (we thought we might have to wait until a holiday).

I am in tears reading how well things have gone for your son, it clearly was the best thing you did. I have everything crossed this will be the same outcome for our DD as well.

See more...

You definitely do not have to wait until a holiday to move them. You can effectively take them out of one school on Tuesday and start the other on Wednesday once it’s all confirmed.

My process took a long time as I had to appeal to the LEA and fight for his place (oversubscribed schools). Once I had the letter confirming he had a place though, it all happened within a week.

I don’t have a single regret moving my son. I hope you get everything in place quickly. Have you called the school and asked to enrol her immediately? Explain the situation and I’m sure they will be very helpful and accommodating. They normally email or send the forms that day.

[ely3857]

As already said, if the school has place available then it’s just a case of completed the paperwork for the new school (just the normal stuff you’d expect) and then informing her current school in writing she’s leaving and what date is her last one.

[Disney Jo]

Thank you both.

The new school said they have quite a few applications that they are processing but said they can’t say defiantly but feel they do have space. They advised us to ask her current school to start the process rather then them starting it.

DD school day was awful again. The girls involved were spoken to, all admitted that they hadn’t heard my daughter say what she is being accused off. Then these girls told more people in the classrooms which meant more people starting on my daughter even though no one heard her say what she is being accused off! So spiteful.

[Bootrip2]

Just wanted to say i hope you can move her soon and she settles well in her school. No child should have to suffer at school. Xxxxx

[Danex]

I’m so sorry your poor daughter is going through this.

We had the same thing with my DD, a group of girls bullied her all through year 9, we hoped the summer break would help, but when she went back to school at the start of year 10 things were just as bad as ever. The school were useless, and we did make the decision to move her.

I contacted the school we wanted her to move to, and they made the move so simple.
We just had to fill in an application form, and give them a copy of her latest school report and her transfer test results (she was at a Grammar school and moving to another Grammar school)

We actually removed her from her old school for a couple of weeks before the Halloween break just to give her some space, and then she started the new school after the holidays.

I was very hesitant to move her, my DS and her cousins were at the same school, it’s a 10 minute walk from our house, her new school she had to get a train to, so she was leaving the house so early in the morning (7.15am) to go and get a train to school and I just felt so awful for her that she had to do that, but her mental health was suffering terribly and she was insistent that she wanted to move.

In the end it was definitely the right move for her, and it was such a relief for her to be away from that situation.

[Floridaagogo]

No experience of secondary school but we did move ds in year 5 of primary school due to bullying .The whole thing took 2 weeks and it was the best thing we ever did.He made wonderful friends (as did I) and within 6 months he was head boy .Hope it works out for you and your child xxx

[jas72]

Isn’t it horrible how the bullies get away with it time and time again