Thinking of moving to a new area AND want to check out school - How? Bournemouth

[jellyjelly]

I want to view several schools/areas for us to concentrate on what area to move into but where do i do this? Where can i look?

[cece]

check out their ofsted reports first.

[zippitippitoes]

check out upmystreet with the post code and it will show schools then check out ofsted for reports and then visit schools and find some local parents to talk too and ask the estate agents

[cece]

most school have a website too.

[Tommy]

you could ask \link{http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=1368&threadid=157664\these kind people here}

[jellyjelly]

How do i search if i dont know the names of the schools? Can you tell i havetn done this before?

[zippitippitoes]

put a postcode in here abd then look at the options on the left hand side and click on schools
\link{http://www.upmystreet.com/\here}

[jellyjelly]

I done that before but couldnt find primary school only second and middle schools.

[cece]

www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/

click on correct age range and postcode. should give you a list of schools

[Flamesparrow]

Where abouts are you moving to?

[Flamesparrow]

Really should read the post properly!!! I'm sorry, that was a useless question really wasn't it?

[jellyjelly]

We can all be sily at times so dont worry.

[SPARKLER1]

Hi jellyjelly

I saw your post on our meet up

\link{http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=1368&threadid=157664&stamp=060407174440\thread}

here's all the info for you other locals.

[SPARKLER1]

I'm in Poole and love it here. DD1 is at primary school in Canford Heath and it is a fantastic school. House prices are very high but I think you'll find that wherever you look in most of the Poole and Bournemouth area. Prices have shot up over the last couple of years.

[jellyjelly]

The prospect of putting another 70 k on a mrtgage is a bit scary.

[SPARKLER1]

Where are you at the moment?

[jellyjelly]

Reading which is considered expensive but not as much as bournemouth/areas. Have been looking at canford/parkstone and now creekmoor but dont know which would be good.

[jellyjelly]

This is what i pout on the other thread

Hey ladies, we are thinking about moving into the area and just really want to pick your brains about it.

I am a childminder so need to be fairly near to other families so i can get work.

Good primary schools for our kids and nursery (state not private day.)

Not many problems with crime etc which i know is a possibility whereever you live. A place where you wouldnt mind bringing up your kids.

Goodparks, libaries, leisure (not that important but thought i would ask, the other two are more important especially as we will have the beach nearby.)

We have been thinking about canford heath (seems quite expensive for 3 beds which is the minumum) and parkstone (not sure of areas but it looks nice and big houses. have been sort of looking at creekmoor as you seem to get 4 beds pretty cheap but wanted info if possible as it seems to suit our budget more than the others but just wondered why.?

Can anyone fill me in, coming down at easter to have a drive around which i think only shows so much.

By SPARKLER1 on Friday, 7 April, 2006 5

[lucy5]

I used to live in Parkstone and there are good and not so good areas. My friends ds goes to a school called courthill and she is very happy with it. I enjoyed my time in Parkstone. If you know the names of any roads, I would be pleased to tell you if they are nice or not. I think Creekmoor might be a bit rough if I remember rightly but I could be wrong. Probably better to rely on the locals for that one.

[mumlove]

Hi jellyjelly I have now found this thread so am repeating what I said on other post incase you didn't see it.

Have you still got my details from previous emails, you are still welcome to come in for a coffee when you vist Poole. Hope you are feeling better now. How are the wedding arrangements comming along?

I have met SPARKLER1 and know that she lives in canford heath but don't know where anyone else lives as not yet been able to meet up with them.

[jellyjelly]

I think i still have them. Been busy breaking my leg at chirstmas so the wedidng had to go on the back burner but they have come to the front this weekend. Am looking forward to coming down at easter and checking out the areas.

[brimfull]

Well I live in Ringwood which has great schools ,and I think is a great place to bring up kids.House prices have shot up since we bought, so don't know if that may put you off.

My dd has been throught the infant and primary school and is now at the senior school which has a great reputation.

[Charlene1]

When we relocated, I looked on yell.com for all facilities I needed like schools, shops, dentists, doctors etc., found out if they had websites or were listed anywhere, googled the schools and dentists etc, looked at a similar site to Mumsnet that is split into "mini sites" for different areas (can't say name but you might know which one I mean), looked for any sites that were written by people who lived there, checked out upmystreet etc. As it was only 20 miles away, where we moved to, we drove round the area in the week and at weekends ("stalking it"), listening for things like loads of swearing or obvious bad behaviour from kids coming out of school, gangs of youths fighting, intimidating old ladies, hanging round, if people in the shops were friendly, the people who lived there were stopping to chat to each other. I looked at the county council website, the town council website, ofsted, league tables. Most useful was the websites and archives for local papers that had crime reports, school news etc. so we built up a picture of no go areas, high achieving schools, community links, places to go, things to do etc. Obviously people's opinions on "good schools" are different - I would class a "good school" as one that involves the kids in things in and out of school, has good exam results, has well behaved pupils, good policies for bullying, approachable staff, involve the parents in things, good secondary schools that the primary "feeds to", easy to get to - by car on foot etc. Just wanted to make sure we picked the right place..... :o

[LIZS]

Go into LEA website , there may be a list or they could send you a booklet with the addresses, heads etc to contact

[jellyjelly]

Well you done your research didnt you. We have checked out upmystreet and canford health looks good but the houses seem small. If we were spending 200k i would want a 4 bed which i dont think we can really get there.

I didnt know the other site you were talking about so if you can give me a bigger clue that would be good.

[Surfermum]

There are larger houses at Canford Heath, jellyjelly, I think West Canford Heath. Sparkler's house is lovely! I'm in Broadstone, just up the road and it's great, a bit of a villagy feel and really good schools - people move into Broadstone to get into the schools, but it is more expensive than Canford Heath. It would be worth having a look at Creekmoor while you're here too, to see if it suits. I know a few people who live there and they seem to like it.

Wherever you pick, it's a really lovely place to live. Loads going on, loads for kids to do, beaches, lovely pubs, fireworks in the summer - and we have great meet-ups!