Moving schools 1 term into reception....?

[Badvoc]

Sorry if this is a but rambly...
My ds2 is 5 and started reception in August
He seemed to settle really well, there were only 18 in the class and he knew some of them from pre school.
However...since then more kids have joined, all boys and a few of whom are a bit of a handful :)
There are now 23 in the class, very boy heavy ratio.
Ds2 is quite a sensitive little thing really, prefers playing with girls, make believe, dressing up etc his teacher says that he is very quiet in class (he makes up for it at home!)
He is doing well academically and is in top group for phonics and numeracy.
He has started saying he doesn't want to go to school :(
I can't really get anything else out of him.
I have been here before with my eldest ds and took far too long to do anything.
We have the option of another school, very small - 50 kids in total - and mixed age classes (so reception and year 1 together which I think could work well for ds2)
My eldest son loved it at this school, but that doesn't mean it's right for ds2 does it?
Last thurs ds got very distressed at lunchtime, would not eat any lunch and spent the lunch hour in the classroom book area. His teacher did not see fit to phone me and I didn't know til home time.
Ds2 has been off ill since then (this awful virus that's doing the rounds) and he is getting stressed about going back on Monday already :(
Wwyd?

[pyrrah]

I moved DD 3 weeks into the autumn term when a place came up at our first choice school. Was all a bit manic for me - heard the place was available on the Thursday morning, had to go and sign the forms on the Friday, buy new uniform on the Saturday and Monday morning she started at the new school.

Was a bit surprised I only had to phone the original school and say she wasn't coming back the next week - no forms to sign or anything.

DD is pretty confident and resilient and after a week of telling the teacher she hated the school and wanted to leave, she settled in with no problems at all.

Her school is quite big - 2 form entry - but it's nice for her to have a big friendship pool.

I would worry that a small school would limit that or at any rate exaggerate any social problems.

But, I would say to go with your gut feeling on what is right for your son.

[RandomMess]

I don't see why you wouldn't move him?

[Badvoc]

I suppose I am worried that if I move him and he doesn't like the new school I am out of options
His class actually has 25 in and it's likely to go up - new houses being built etc
There are 20 in the mixed class at the other school.
Going to visit on Monday afternoon.

[gfrnn]

We moved DS a month ago. the old school was not dealing with some issues and while DS was not overtly unhappy he had lost the sense of joy that he had at pre-school. The move has worked out very well - he has regained his old enthusiasm. We agonised over this for weeks in Nov and Dec following a very unsatisfactory meeting with his old teacher in Nov. Like you, we were very worried that if we moved him and he didn't settle then we'd be out of options. We expected it to take some time before we knew whether we'd made the right choice but it was obvious we had done the right thing by day 4.

Of course, you do need to visit the other school, and it would be worth talking to the teacher about your child's character and how he would fit in. If he is getting stressed on Friday about going back on Monday then it's clear something needs to change. Trust your instincts - they'll probably be right.

[Badvoc]

I didn't with ds1 and it had horrendous consequences :(
I wonder if a smaller school is more "him" iyswim?
His pre school was very small and he loved it.

[blueberryboybait]

We didn't move DD when things started going wrong in the 1st term of reception last year and are paying for it now! We eventually at the end of term 5, after DD breaking down sobbing about rough boys and shoving, throwing water bottles at her etc. realised it wasn't normal to sob about going to school, when she had been so happy at nursery. We moved her to her new school at the beginning of year 1, she has spent the last 4 months playing catch up, we found out she was making no progress because she was so unhappy at her last school, the difference if amazing, she runs in to class, never cried, gets excited at projects and class trips.

If you are having doubts about whether this is the right school the chances are it is not.

[Fannydabbydozey]

I moved my son after four weeks. The school just was not right for him. (It was an in year application when he was 8 as we had returned from abroad) My kids now go to a small village school with mixed age classes - this sounded daunting to me at first but year six are all exceeding expectations so it seems to be working well.

It's not the first time I've moved my kids either - I did it when we lived abroad for a couple of years. After four months I could see my daughter was struggling so we found a more suitable school. We had to move though and it involved a hell commute down the road of death for me to get to work BUT she was happy and thrived so it was ultimately worth it.

Visit the other school - take your son. I took mine before we decided and he immediately warmed to the village school. It just felt right and we are happy that it has been brilliant experience for both my kids. I was worried that the smallness of the school would do little to prepare my eldest for secondary but it has actually given him lots of confidence and he is secure in himself. Schools are very personal subjects and what suits other kids may not be right for your son. The one we left was supposedly Ofsted outstanding and yet doesn't come close to the village one in so many areas.

[Badvoc]

Oh don't worry I pay no attention to ofsted :)
We moved ds1 from an outstanding to a satisfactory school and it worked out well.
I do wonder how teaching works in a mixed age class I must admit....

[Huitre]

My daughter was in a Y1/2 class last year and absolutely thrived. I think with a teacher who is on the ball, mixed age is no more challenging than mixed ability which all classes are to some extent.

[Badvoc]

Dis very upset again this morning :(
Going to try and take him round the new school today