AIBU to consider an outdoor primary over our local school?

The outdoor school is a brilliant concept for pre-school children who are learning through play. Any decent nursery will have an outdoor space and will get the kids out, every day, in any weather even if they are not purely outdoors.

However at the primary school stage there are going to be things you just can't do outdoors in the same way. If that's a compromise you're willing to make, fine. Also as others have said it rained every day for 6 weeks at the start of the year here and that creates a muddy, cold and damp mess.

I don't know how anyone in the UK could consider that.

I think that state Reception is done well. It’s very play based with short bursts of sitting down for a story or phonics lesson (10-15 mins for each) Year 1 was a huge step up and that’s when I would have moved my sons to more outdoor provision.

Must be difficult having to buy laminated reading books and having children read and write on rainy days (which is most of the year in the UK) I feel sorry for the adults who must have to spend crazy amounts of time cleaning and drying equipment too. My sons spent a lot of Reception outdoors but would not have enjoyed lunch (and using the loo) outdoors.

Small schools look best for 4 year olds but they quickly outgrow that and it could cause you problems later because it will restrict your choice of secondary. If you pick the very small school then I would move to a bigger school at age 6/7 ish. The bigger kids seem huge compared to Receptiin but you’ll be surprised how quickly your child becomes one of the bigger kids.

Honestly I don't see the dilemma. You can always reassess if it's not working out for any reason.

If we had a forest school near us, I would be considering it. Our nursery had two days a week at beach school and my daughter thrived.

Forest schools can have really good outcomes when done well. They tend to avoid wet soggy children and trees falling on them as unhappy children and being sued isn't a great day. I would be looking at what they do on the curriculum through the school. How is the school performing? Do most children stay all the way through primary? What is your plan 11+ as going from Forest school to state secondary maybe quite a transition at difficult stages.

Gdcs’ primary (a state C of E) has routine ‘forest school’ days - the Gdcs love them. But I’ve never heard of a school that’s totally ‘forest’ - I can’t imagine how they manage every part of a normal curriculum.

We have a forest school at our primary and it’s great. However, it’s a totally different situation if you’re outside for six hours a day rather than two.

Even dressing weather appropriate becomes a nuisance when you try to write in cold weather, and in the heat it becomes unbearable.

I work with a very small group of children who struggle to access the classroom, so we spend a lot of time in Forest school, but the novelty wears off very quickly.

As pp say, look at what he will be learning academically at ten and eleven, rather than the fun he’ll be having at four years old.

Maybe explore all the different options first. As others have said if you are thinking of private have you looked at other private options with small classes? My kids go to a tiny state primary50 kids in total and one full day of forest school in the lower years. Having had two kids now finish primary I would also think about the standard of the academic offer. For reception Year 1 it sounds great to be outdoors but actually you don't want your child to be disadvantaged and behind. The older years are quite rigourous. Also small schools have their disadvantagesyou are stuck with quite a limited set of people. It can be hard. In a bigger intake you are more likely to self-select a group of friends who feel similar to you. In my kid's tiny school this isn't an option.

We have a school like that near us. It’s popular for the kids with very alternative parents, but there aren’t many children attending. It clearly works for some kids, but my concerns would be how my child would feel when moving from there into mainstream school - other kids would be settled, have their friends, be used to the classroom, etc. It would simply delay starting mainstream school and make it more difficult.

Some people I’ve spoken to are considering flex-schooling for the reception year (when it would cause less disruption) and sending their kids to the outdoor school one day per week. Would that be an option?

I would look carefully at the offer higher up the school. It quite likely is a good fit for him now but I’d be concerned about the fit as he gets older.

many schools used to split at 7 so infants was much more personalised than juniors 7 and up are ready for more challenge

As a former state primary teacher I would say that most children would do better with a more free and play based start to their education. I would start at the outdoor school and reevaluate at 7/8yrs old. It might be he is thriving and you continue on or at that point you might want to go for a more academic environment.
The only thing I think would be important is to ensure, if he does switch back into mainstream state school at some point, that before that you get him reading and knowing his times tables. Honestly though, most children could learn this in a term of 1:1 parental teaching if needed. So don’t stress it at 4yrs old.

This.

Also, a school with more children offers them opportunities for more competitive sport, different friendship groups etc.

When DS was at nursery we seriously considered a teeny local village school (indoors obviously) that had a total of 40 children. It was adorable and felt 'safe' for our then 3 yo. I'm SO glad we saw sense, and went for a regular school (only 1 class per year, and to be honest by Y5 that started to feel too small) as it gave him many more opportunities that he'd have missed out in in the tiny school.

Appropriate clothing yes but if it’s torrential rain all day long or freezing temperatures there needs to be some kind of indoor area. They can’t sustain that all day long even in appropriate clothing.

What about when they’re a bit older and need to be actually doing a fair bit of writing - how does that work on a day of non-stop rain?

No, I wouldn’t. It’s great that children have time outdoors in their lives but an actual outdoor school would be miserable in the Winter and I very much doubt it would prepare them for life.

Most (all?) primary schools have a version of Forest School/Wild Tribe/Outdoor skills now. Your concerns about the number in the year aren’t really relevant, and, indeed, as you say your DC has a problem with large groups of people, it would actually be beneficial for him. He needs to learn to deal with all situations not just ones that consist of small numbers of people outside in quietness.

I’m sure the Outdoor School sounds all so very romantic and lovely, but it’s a bad idea IMO and will almost certainly affect your DS’s academic and social development.

I am not sure how outing it is to say you live in commuting distance of Morden, but somewhere like this? https://www.libertywoodlandschool.com/

Can’t think of anything worse than being outside all winter year in year out. We have horses so it is a case that we have to be but at least we are warm for much of the day at school/work. Maybe ok at 3 but can’t imagine many 10 year olds enjoying it. I think the intake doesn’t make much of a difference- dc will still have their own class, there will be TA’s, a good teacher won’t ignore a child or let them slip under the radar just for being quiet and often the dynamics of smaller schools make friendships more tricky when there is fall outs etc. If the school is awful and you really want the small class sizes then maybe look at an independent school but I’d certainly not sign mine up for years of being outdoors during rainy Uk winters

I live in the NE and it rained almost every day between Christmas and the end of February. I'm not sure how being outside all day every day would work. The kids and teachers would be cold and wet, even in the most appropriate clothing? Cold is one thing, but horizontal rain and wind??

Generally, how far away do the other children who attend the outside school live? Will he have a chance of making local friends. How big is the intake?

Although I understand the concerns about the 60 intake it can really help with friendships, more chance of finding your own tribe. We go to a local primary and it’s so good having local friends- my eldest is 11 and always has people to go to the park/ shops with and can independently get to most of her friends houses.

I’ve just found a school that is all outdoors and I wonder if it’s that one - they do have a ‘den’ which presumably covers bad weather options.

It all sounds insufferable if I’m honest. The SEND “offer” just regurgitates what SEND actually is and something very generic. If it also has a secondary attached, I’d be very careful about the curriculum. It’s all very lovely but make sure you agree that their version of “preparing them for the modern world” is what preparation for adult life actually looks like.

It sounds lovely 😍. However I would be cautious. Local Schools are bigger,but DC have the benefit of meeting and playing with children locally. As they get older .meeting after School. Also how far is the forest school.As you say you are not an alternative family. So you would have less in common with other parents. Your LO is still small.Do some research and maybe go along to any open days to see what it's like

Location is such an important factor with schools, depending on distance I would go with the closest school. More independence as they get older.

I think full time outdoor school sounds great! I would have loved that as a child and it will be great from a physical and mental health perspective.

I also think in a world of AI, and with the effects of climate change likely becoming more noticeable/extreme in your child’s lifetime, outdoor skills and resilience will be even more important.

So, I’d be tempted to do it at least for the next couple of years while he’s still young.

You may just need to be prepared to put in a bit more effort as parents to ensure he meets standards academically if the school isn’t doing it.

I’d do it for my kids if there was a local option, and I’m very mainstream and believe strongly in academic learning.

I’d be worried bout stormy days and trees falling.. or tree limbs falling..if it was fully outside.. like how do they manage when it’s lashing rain all day etc.. also wood smoke is bad for your lungs..
can you find a smaller more rural school with smaller class sizes who do forest school?

I think is easy to be swayed when the options are state Vs private. If you are considering a private school though it seems unusual that you wouldn't consider a private school with excellent outdoor provision as the best of both options?