Starting School Mid Term

Sometimes unforeseen circumstances come into play that can make it impossible for our children to remain at the same school all the way through their education.

Any number of reasons can attribute to this eventuality taking place. It may be that you as the child’s parent have been offered a job and moving to another area is necessary to facilitate that job. Or perhaps there are family issues to take into consideration – after all – it is not unheard of for the family unit to break down and one parent will move to another area taking the child or children with them.

Or perhaps it is simply a case that you feel your child is not receiving the standard of education you require for them at the school they are currently at? This can happen. We also must touch on the other reason – which a lot of parents might like to ignore – and that is perhaps your child is the unfortunate victim of bullying. Although many schools do not suffer from this most unpleasant of behaviour in the schooling system it does happen and must be taken seriously.

Whatever the reason for making the decision to remove your child from school mid term and place them at another school it is a decision that cannot be – or should not be – taken lightly.

Reasons For Moving Your Child

If your child is having difficulties you should first make contact with your child’s current head or senior teachers and discuss these difficulties with them. It may be that they are struggling to keep up with the work set or the curriculum as a whole and therefore moving them to another school may not make all that much difference and simply cause further problems with the upheaval.

Your child’s head teacher and/or senior teachers will be only too happy to meet with you and talk through any issues you have concerning their level of schooling. In instances like this it can bring to the fore a requirement for some special needs education. You can find out more on this topic in our article relating to Special Needs Education

It can sometimes be overlooked that your child may require Special Needs education and in some cases it may be the case that they are having difficulty interacting with other pupils and teachers or are suffering from a behavioural disorder. Although no parent likes to think of this as a scenario it is worth checking with their school before doing anything rash.

Moving Your Child In Year 10 and 11

Moving your child in Year 10 or 11 can be particularly problematic as it is sometimes unlikely that their GCSE course can be matched at a different school so if moving your child you must check with both the school they are at and the school you wish them to transfer to that they can offer that subject and to the same level or higher.

Of course if you are simply moving home and staying within the same catchment area your child is perfectly entitled to remain at the school they currently attend, providing suitable transport arrangements are made.

If they are currently the recipient of free travel to and from school this may be affected if the move takes them outside a particular area where free transport is either limited or indeed not available at all. This facilitates problems in getting your child to and from school and can also have a financial implication if travel has to be paid for on a daily basis.

Before Moving Your Child

If after everything has been taken into consideration and a move during mid-term is necessary the first thing you should do is contact the school or schools you have selected as suitable alternatives. This is, first and foremost, to ensure that they have a place available for your child. If they do have a place available the head teacher in conjunction with the head of year group should be able to help with the transition and make the process as stress free as possible.

Again it is worth going through the process of selecting more than one school just in case your first choice does not have a place free. Don’t forget if a school has limited places and you try to enrol your child mid-term you may be unsuccessful.

Your local education authority – or the LEA of the district you are moving to – can provide you with information of schools that do have places available.

In conclusion although it can be a difficult time it doesn’t have to be too difficult if you plan ahead.