State, private or Homeed?

[halia]

we're not happy with DS progress and support at his current (ofsted rated good) state primary. I have been looking into options and need some advice on what to do/ or what to consider when I make my mind up:
1: stay where he is and trust that next year will be better: Cost 0, impact minimal
2: Stay where he is, change my working hrs so I have more time after school and spend it with DS to help him progress Cost £5-10k
3: move him to another state primary: no cost but not sure if its doable
4: Go private: Cost for 2 years £9k
5: Home ed: I'd have to give up my job which would probably put a damper on my career Cost £15k (1yr)

[taffetacatski]

how old is your DS?

[halia]

sorry missed that bit! he is 5 - going into yr 1 next year

[omnishambles]

They dont make that much progress in reception though do they? I would wait another year and then send him private if you're still no happy.

What were you expecting in reception year - maybe its too much? Even in prep they dont do much in reception.

[taffetacatski]

What investigations have you done to come to the conculsion that you're not happy with his progress?

What conclusions have you drawn about the school and the teacher?

I ask as if its schoolwide issues you have identified then the answer would be different to if there are issues with the teacher.

Reception is very early to be concerned about progress. I was worried that my DS didn't progress in kindergarten but was very impressed by the Reception teacher in the same school.

Reception is still a lot of learning through play and is sold in our school as primarily being about socialising the children into the school rather than great leaps in education.

[castlesintheair]

Agree that little (academic) progress is made in Reception. It was noticeable in year 1 for my DC and then again in year 3. I'd wait another year, you might be pleasantly surprised.

[archstanton]

My older two are at a highly selective independent school and even then, the progress in Reception seemed nominal. But it was almost as if all the pieces were being laid out and they all joined together in Y1.

I'd wait and see how it pans out next year unless it is a school problem that's worrying you rather than lack of academic progress.

[civil]

My dd is at an unpopular, 'satisfactory' state primary.

At the end of reception she and a few others were doing relatively good joined up writing and almost at the end of the reading scheme.

I was happy with this progress since - at the beginning of the year - she couldn't read anything and could not write any letters.

She is also left handed and her class teacher had - rather sweetly - saught advice about this.

Since I hadn't started school til 5, I didn't think they would do anything at all in reception and nearly didn't send her to school.

I think end of reception is a bit early to think about changing schools.

[Sazisi]

I think your option 2 looks good, if you can afford to do it.
What are the main things he's not making progress in?
How is he getting on socially?

[GrimmaTheNome]

As others have said, it may be premature to judge his progress. My DD went to a very good private school; I was worried about her progress all the way through infants and then she took off like a rocket!

Option 2 may not help much. My DD was tired after school and simply wouldn't take instruction from me. Home ed would have been a disaster for us - unless you're a KS1 trained teacher, are you confident you can actually teach?

When you say 'support', does your DS have special needs?

[acebaby]

I would wait until the end of year 2 to make a decision. Many of the prep schools (including DS1's school) in our area open up a new class in year 3 to accommodate children moving from the local state primaries. That way, you would be giving your DS's current school a good chance and he would be joining with loads of other new boys - perhaps including some from his current school.

[lovecheese]

I would agree that it is too early to make any rash decisions that you later regret. I would give it another year. What kind of ability do you think your DS has? And what makes you think he is not reaching it?

[halia]

Grimma - DS doesn't have special needs, and as far as teaching him myself goes yes I am 100% confident that I could do that.

My issue is that he doesn't appear to have learn anything, either academic or social. I had more feedback from his preschool and nursery than I do from his school. I do have issues with his lack of progress in reading and writing, I know its not a popular view on MN but I do want him to be able to read and I did expect them to do considerably more work on that at school.

[ninah]

option 4 would cost more like £20k round here

[omnishambles]

If you really want him to read then you can teach him outside of school though - or you could have done it before he started school and (and I dont mean this to sound mean) but if you know you want to push him quite hard and fair enough if thats what you're into then why didnt you send him private in the first place?

[GrimmaTheNome]

I think we all want our DCs to learn to read - just that some of us in retrospect realise that reading ability in reception isn't particularly well correlated to what they'll be doing in a couple of years time.

On the other hand, if you're convinced he's not reaching his potential and you're not getting feedback then reviewing options is perfectly sensible.

[amidaiwish]

i think it is too early for you to decide if the only thing you are worried about is his academic progress in reception

however, i do think that primary education, esp good state schools, is about a school-home partnership.

they have streamed dd's class in the last term of this year (year 1) and of the 6 on the top table all of them have parents that do a lot at home, sit and help them read etc.. (2 have parents that were teachers in other countries but now not working).

so option 2 is ideal, if you can afford it.
even in private schools you need to sit with them in the evenings for at least a bit.

[amidaiwish]

p.s. are you sure private for 2 years is only £9k.... would be double that here plus all the extras. (and longer holidays = extensive summer clubs etc which are expensive and maybe too much for a 5 year old ime)

[GrimmaTheNome]

We're in one of the cheapest areas for private schools and its about £6K per year.

[mattahatta]

Reception is generally more about getting used to school settings, learning to do a 6 hour day and making friends.... however can I ask, would you say your son is naturally bright? If so then you dont want him to get bored because if he loses interest in school and learning so young then it will be hard to rekindle that....IMPO

[williewalshsballs]

so what will you do after 2 years in indie school

[mattahatta]

williewalsh- sorry maybe I'm being stupid but what is indie school?

[williewalshsballs]

independent

[mattahatta]

ok I was being stupid- thats obvious!!!! oops

[rainbowfizz]

My only input would be waiting until end of year 2 is too late from my experience.

With my first child, I blindly followed the school, who told me she was excellent in reading, writing and mathematics and was top of the top group for her year group of 100 children.

Well all I can say is I hate to think what the rest of the 99 ability was like, because when she went to change school, I was told that she couldn't read, her writing was atrocious, she couldn't spell, and that her maths was the only thing she could do because she was naturally talented.

Yes I was aware of her level of reading and writing, but presumed that this was normal for age based on what the school had said.

She spent so many years trying to catch up, even now in Yr 8 her writing is poor, compared to her ability.

By god, I was damn sure I wouldn't make the same mistake with my subsequent children, and no way if I was unhappy with a school would I now allow them 3 years to mess up my child's education.