Ranking schools for Reception application

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I have to put three choices, so need to rank these schools, but don't love any of them.

For reference, when I toured schools I was asking about things like how they settle children who struggle in Reception. Also homework and prayer (the less the better), play time and forest school (the more the better). All three are religious and we are atheist, but have no other realistic choices.

Catchment school: 45 min walk. Nice facilities. Locals say it is an friendly and encouraging school. But I found the headteacher dismissive of my questions. The children looked bored. The teachers nervous, or grumpy. The classroom walls were bare and the choice of reading books dull. It was rated Requires Improvement several years back and not been inspected again since becoming an academy.

Village school: 30 min cycle. Headteacher gave great answers to all my questions. Seemed to value the same things I did. But the actual teachers seemed quite grumpy/snappy at the children and the children looked bored with little on classroom walls. Prayer at assembly. Mixed year classrooms. Facilities ok, but crowded. Consistently rated good by Ofsted.

River school: 10 min drive (not safe to cycle). Headteacher gave great answers to my questions. Not always the answer I was hoping for, but I understood her reasoning. She wasn't dismissive. Children happy. Teachers friendly. Classrooms had lots of work on walls. Mixed year classrooms. Facilities lovely, but moving to a new school building at some unspecified point in next 5 years. This seems like it could really change the character of the school and disrupt things? Usually rated good by Ofsted, but most recently rated Requires Improvement.

With the new building... you just have no idea what will happen to any of the schools. My local infant school was consistently oversubscribed for years but LEA had refused to let them expand. Until the year my son joined, we applied for a small 2 form entry school and after applying got told they were changing to 3 form entry and would commence a building project but for a while the extra classes would be in a temporary classroom in the middle of the playground. Then they built another building in the playground, and sold off part of the outside space too.

I think this is a low birth year so number 1 be ambitious you may get into a school much further away which you wouldn’t have previous years! This happened to all my friends last year!

Happy children is worth more than anything else. That would have to be top of the list for me.

I wouldn't worry about the move to new buildings.

We've just been looking round schools (for secondary, but same principles apply). I have to remind myself frequently that the buildings shouldn't be a significant factor in making a choice. As long as they meet minimum standards - things like the rooms have windows, water isn't pouring in - then I'd ignore the buildings. It's really easy to get distracted by the buildings because they are so visible and obvious.

I'd be more interested in the ethos, quality of education, warmth of staff, breadth of education and opportunities. My younger DC has a particularly warm and welcoming teacher this year and it's making all the difference to her. Whilst she's in a shiny new classroom, she'd be the same lovely teacher in a portacabin.

I'd probably not worry about the RI from Ofsted if it was a while ago. My eldest joined her school when it had been RI and by the spring it had been inspected and was rated as good.

Based on ofsted I’d say river then - much more surmountable range of issues.

I wouldn't get fixated on concerns about the school potentially moving location in future. Any school can suddenly change. The head teacher of any of the schools you have viewed could leave, and within 1-2 years, the whole feel of the place could be different. That's just something you never know. You need to make a decision based on now. If five years down the line the school moves and you really don't like it, you have the option to move your child at that stage. I would say, though, that the staff have a far bigger baring on the vibe of a school than the bricks and mortar.