Any experience of tiny village schools?

[pyjamababe]

I'm looking for a school for DS1. Would prefer a church school (we are Catholic but there are none locally, nearest 20-30min drive with a poor ofsted report). However, our nearest CofE school is in the next village. 5 min drive, chocolate box type place, maypole in the grounds, etc etc. BUT there are only 50 pupils in the school, so different year groups are put together.

They have a good Ofsted and the school has a lovely feel to it, very nice staff too, it just feels like a big home really.

Alternatively, there is a community primary school which is walking distance, 250 on roll and an outstanding Ofsted given this year.

So, anyone out there with a child at a very small school who knows the pros/cons?

[skybluepearl]

Mine attend a small village school a 5min drive away. It is wonderful, very family orientated, creative, academic, fun and friendly. The kids play with children in their year group and also different year groups. They all look after the small ones and the big ones take on a caring role. I know lots of parents throughout the school and we often meet up and help each other out. I only wished we lived closer to the school as all our family friends are there and i would love to get rid of the car.

[IslaValargeone]

I would opt for the community primary school if it were me. I think it would be easier for your ds to have others round to play for example, if you live nearby. The village school might be really cliquey and if you come from a different village, even though it's not far, it ay not be as easy to forge friendships?
We had our dc in a school just like the one you describe, it didn't really work for us. The mixed class atmosphere drove her mad when she was with the younger group, and there weren't enough different people to choose to be friends with. I'm sure someone else will come along with a glowing view of small schools, but this is just my experience.

[MummyBerryJuice]

I have no experience but we live in a village with only 12 pupils in the school. It has an excellent report from D and whenever we go for er fund-raising events it 'fayres' the atmosphere is wonderful. Very family and community orientated. AND a fair few ex-pupils have gone on to Oxbridge (after secondary school though admittedly )

[UnseenAcademicalMum]

Ds1 is in a small village school with only 50 pupils in the whole school. He loves it. The advantage for him is that the years are mixed reception/year 1 and year 1/year 2, but they separate out the children into ability groups. This means that ds1 who is a year 1 actually does all his work with the year 2 children (he is the only year 1 to do so), but ultimately as he is ahead of the other year 1's it has been possible to have him doing the year 2 work, if that makes sense.

Also, it being small, the headteacher and all the teachers know all the children, families and younger siblings.

[KnitterNotTwitter]

My DS is an August baby so i actively want him to go to a school with mixed classes so that he isn't always the youngest in the class.. that said i'd always choose the one nearest to home for logistical reasons...

[SarkyandGeorge]

I attended a small village school with only 17 children in my year. I personally loved it but there were certainly pros and cons...

Pros

• All 17 of us were a good group of friends. We all played together and everyone was always invited to each others parties.
  
• The teacher had the time to spend with every individual pupil.
  
• It was a 'nice' area so was full of 'nice' people and a 'nice' environment.
  

Cons

• Since we were all so close, god help anyone who transferred into the school late. Two pupils joined us in years 4 or 5 and although we included them they weren't really part of the gang.
  
• You couldn't get away with a thing!
  
• There were no big school trips. I.e. Other schools went to Disneyland Paris and we went to West Wales!
  
• We left that place completely oblivious to the outside world! It was a real shock to get to Secondary school where there were 'naughty' kids and children from deprived households. Obviously this was also down in part to the other experiences we had and not just the school but when I left it was a bit like the country-mouse trying to fit in and feeling a little lost!
  

(That last one may seem like a bit of a pro in a way as we were certainly sheltered from the big bad world).

[VivaLeBeaver]

Go for the school in your village. DD currently goes to a very small school 5 mins drive away as the village one is crap.

It is a PITA driving there every day, plus its not as easy for her to meet up with friends, etc. I'm sure they'll still do RE at the non cofe school.

DD's new school is non c of e and her old one was c of e, I haven't noticed any difference at all. Still have assembly, prayers, RE. Just as much as the old one.

We're moving her back to the bigger, crap village school for Yr6 so she will know more people to go to secondary school with.

[ClenchedBottom]

Hmm there really are pros and cons and so much of it 'depends.'
My DC are in a smallish village school. It can be warm and supportive and lovely, but it can also be cliquey and claustrophobic. Some of the year groups are very small and pupils have limited opportunities for friendships in their own year - whilst they do play with pupils in other years, it can then cause upset when friends don't move up to high school together. There is no breakfast club or after school club, as not enough of the parents needed it - a big hassle for us. Extra curricular activities are available, but not loads, as there aren't as many staff to be offering things! - And not enough pupils interested to make it viable to buy in alternatives.

But that all sounds negative - there are positives too, all the pupils know each other, the staff know all the DC and their parents.

Don't assume that 'tiny village school' means 'no behaviour issues' either!

[IslaValargeone]

I'd like to echo waht clenchedBottom has said too.

[ElsieMc]

My DD's and DS's have been to village schools - there are large age gaps between them.

First village school was very small - only eight pupils in one year, three of which were girls so you can imagine the problems that brought. You would need to check out how many pupils in the year and the mix of pupils. This does sound a bit overly fussy but I can only recount my experience.

However, this school gave an excellent education, more old-school and regimented which might not suit a more free spirited child. My youngest DD loved it and said she has such happy memories of her childhood years at this school. I still see the teachers, who while not immediately "warm" personalities always ask after DD's and still offer encouragement with their choices.

Second village school with DS's is different. It has been in special measures, got better, but has plumetted again. It is extremely cliquey and after four years I no longer care about those who ignore me, after all why on earth would I want to waste precious time with people like that? You do need to prepare yourself for an element of this.

The teachers pride themselves on being very "huggy" and hands on. However, my DD has done work experience there and does not rate it at all. She cites lazy staff who want to get away with the minimum deliver uninspired teaching and who look scruffy, turn up late, if at all and the ofsted reports reflects this. However, a new head is starting shortly.

I forgot to mention this school has a very strong christian ethos.

You know your children, go take a look and go with your instincts.

[mumof2girls2boys]

We were at a village school when my DS1 was in yr R there were only 6 in his class and he was the only boy. However due to the smallness of the school the classes moved around a lot and they made an effort every afternoon to allow him to go up into the next class or the boys from that class to come down to him. They were more concerned about him playing with other boys than he was (DS2 is only 16months younger so he played with him after school). It was a 10min drive for us and there was always someone willing to pick up my kids and transport them to birthday parties etc in the village so that I wasn't running back and forwards. Of the 6 schools we have been to so far this was the best state school, the small class sizes worked well for my children and the family atmosphere was great :) It too was a CofE school and I now try to search out a CofE school when we move as they tend to be smaller and friendlier

[kirrinIsland]

What sarkeyandgeorge said. My primary school was tiny and while I loved my time there, secondary school came as a hell of a shock. I found it really hard to fit in and went from being really outgoing to extremely shy as a result of feeling completely out of my depth. However, I wouldn't rule out a small village primary for my DD when the time comes as there are ways to address that problem before it arises IYSWIM

[pyjamababe]

This has made really interesting reading, thanks everyone! Quite a lot of what you say makes sense and there are plenty of things I hadn't considered - especially asking to hear from people who went to small schools themselves so thanks again.

I'm going to see the community primary next week to try and get a feel for it. Part of my problem is that I went to church schools and now teach in a catholic primary (600 on roll - FAR too big IMHO) but it's all i know so non-faith seems strange IYSWIM.

The other problem is that DS1 is also the pfb so seems impossible to hand him over to a place where he'll get lost in the crowd, but 250 isn't really that big is it?

Any more opinions welcome, I am hopeless at decision making...

[pyjamababe]

Also, meant to say that the other families on our road send their children to either the tiny CofE or the local community school, so either way he would have some friends around to play with at home, so I'm not too bothered about that!

[Takver]

I would also ask in the Community school about their religious element. DD goes to a community school - they pray three times a day, have bible readings in assembly every week, go to church / chapel for Harvest and celebrate all the Christian festivals.

Overall I would say that the Christian element is rather higher than it was in my C of E primary 35 years ago. (Personally, I'd prefer less of it since I'm an atheist, but it just goes to show . . .)

[IndigoBell]

A bigger school has more resources, more TAs, more ability to differentiate, are able to run more interventions, more senior staff, have more children to be friends with...

They are able to split your DS from kids he doesn't get on with (at least in the next year when they rejig the classes)

250 is not big. All the staff will still know your DS.

I am continually amazed at how much better my 3 form entry school is compared to my old 1 form entry.

Of course 2 of my 3 have SEN, so that has hugely coloured my experience. But at this stage you don't know what your DS will need or if he will have SEN or any other problems.

[Clary]

I would certainly go for the bigger school you can walk to.

See my posts passim on the subject. Walking wins every time.

Also a school of 50 is v v small, too small IMO; that's 7 in a year group, so 3 other boys for DS1. Not a great friendship pool.

[coccyx]

i would go to the slightly bigger school.
My eldest 2 went to a small village school, never again. very cliquey, little in way of afterschool clubs, mixed age groups in classes, yuk

[ClenchedBottom]

Hmm, I'd still say it varies according to the individual school.
Indigo - the best ever provision for pupils with SEN that I have seen was in a very small village school. Amazing stuff. I know a lot of schools....

You need to focus on these specific schools I think, with an ides of the issues to look out for.

[ClenchedBottom]

• And mixed age classes can work brilliantly , but of course it's not always done well.
  

Sorry, I'm wittering....

[nonicknamemum]

Another thought: my son is 10 and really values being able to walk round to call for his school friends on his own, rather than having to be taken everywhere by an adult. This point wouldn't have occurred to me when my son was four, but I now see it as a big plus that he lives within walking distance of his friends.

[evolucy7]

My 2 DDs go to a small independent school with mixed year classes, myself and my sister also went to the school 30 years ago. I am very happy with the class sizes and the individual attention that the girls' receive. I feel that the mixed classes work very well. There is a lovely big family feeling and the staff always have time for you.

[Clary]

nonickname exactly!

My DD is nearly 10 and walks to and from school by herself/with a friend.

Clearly she didn't do this at 4yo; but in a school 5 mins drive away she wd never be able to.

[socka]

If you're not in the village I'd maybe go for the walkable school. Mine went to a 25-30 pupil school, its was great for the village community as the children would know everyone up to 7 years older and younger. But if you're not part of the village then that may not matter so much.

Mixed classes (4 years to a class!) were great for one of mine who was pretty advanced, and were never a problem as they had TAs etc. They made lifelong friends, including with others they might not have in a larger school. For example to play football the girls needed to be involved, which is a big plus for me.

However if your child doesn't fit in, or doesn't get on with a teacher then they're stuck. Secondary school was a bit of a change too, everyone was pretty privileged at their primary school. However they kept their innocence a lot long than some of the peers which is no bad thing.

You've got to weigh up the pro's and con's. 50 isn't too tiny in my eyes but she how both schools feel.

[woahwoah]

I've taught in several very small rural schools, ranging in numbers from 30-100, plus a couple of bigger schools (250ish). My children went to a small school for several years, then a larger one after we moved house, so I have experienced both as a parent too!

My preference would be for a small school. The advantages are much as people have outlined above - staff know everyone well, older children take on responsibility well, the children tend not to be 'streetwise' so soon, flexible grouping with children older or younger, community links, often a lovely ethos, often stable staffing, can be more 'old school' if you like that, more 'individual' with less conforming to a regimented curriculum which repeats year after year!

The disadvantages can be fewer opportunities for team games/ orchestras, and occasionally more children with behaviour problems (proportionately) as their families move them somewhere smaller after problems elsewhere.

However, all the small schools I have worked in made big efforts to set up or join music and sport opportunities with other schools, and they all had at least a breakfast club, with 2 having after school clubs too, so I don't think people should generalise about tiny schools not having out of school clubs.

If I were you I would go and look round. I think a school of 250 IS big, actually, especially for a 4 year old, but even for older children. And in a small school they gain confidence quickly, so the move to high school is generally no more daunting than it would be anyway.