Primary schools

[PinkMimi]

I am really struggling to decide which primary school is best for our daughter. Like anyone, I just want her to be happy, confident and of course I’d like her to have a good education. If your child has finished primary school and you have had a good experience with them then going on to do well at secondary school, can I ask how you would rate each of these? 1 being the most important and 8 being the least important.

1. Within walking distance
2. Reputation of the school
3. Exam results
4. Size of the school (Big or small)
5. Going from nursery going to the same school
6. Wraparound care
7. School friends living within walking distance / close by
8. Forming friendships with other parents / being part of a PTA.

Any responses much appreciated, thank you

This has a very journalistic feel? Are you writing an article?

6
2
3
1

the rest is largely irrelevant.

Bumping because I'm also stuck! (And not a journalist!)

This - although I'd put 1 at the top of the list and 6 second.

Not a journalist 🙈 Our primary school application deadline is tomorrow and I’m feeling very undecided! 😅

5 should be - Children from nursery going to the same school

I'm not overly worried about exam results, as long as they're not awful - some schools achieve good results by getting rid of any child who's not going to do well (eg any SEN and it's "we can't meet their needs"). And some schools really drill kids for SATS etc without really letting them learn how to learn.

I think for me it's the general reputation, then distance from school, then what sort of vibes I get when I visit. I also think it's good for them to have lots of opportunities for trips, and after school clubs. Also whether the other parents seem ok - I don't want my kids to be in a class of kids who are all trying to be top dog; I'd rather have a group that all help and support each other, and that usually starts with the parents.

2143

Have you checked your LA’s previous admissions information to see which you would have a chance with? For us it was about the feel but also practical stuff around after school wrap around care.

@HoHoGo when you say "not awful" what counts as awful?

Just supposing one school had below average KS2 results over all 3 elements, and below average progress scores, would that put you off?

It would depend on the other schools in the area, I guess. If it's roughly in line with the rest, or just a bit worse, but had a good reputation, I'd be ok with that. If the others in the area were much better then I'd be more hesitant, especially if the general reputation wasn't great.

I haven’t been through the whole of primary but my essential ones were 6 (essential), 1 (was really important to me to be able to walk to the school for health reasons, also other things like making friends with other parents on the school run happened because of 1 IYSWIM, also I found myself drawn to smaller schools, ie one form entry. Stuff like exam results and nursery are largely irrelevant to me…and reputation, doesn’t really matter either - what I find is all schools tend to have a good reputation with the parents who send their kids their and that’s all that matters!

Depends on the child
Depends on your situation
Depends on the culture and feel of the school.

Horses for courses and all that.

You haven't listed the things that were most important for me, namely 1. the feel of the school (does it seem warm and nurturing? Do the children seem happy?) And 2. Do the children progress well? (Rather than overall exam results.)

We were very fortunate to be able to move close to a school that rated highly on both of those, because walking distance is also important to me, but not at the exclusion of all else.

Going to add something you don’t have - things outside of the core curriculum. Languages, music, sports, art etc. I didn’t want to send DS to a school where they got great exam results, but achieved them by parking them all in front of a desk and drilling them on phonics all day.

But aside from that, reputation, achievement, and wraparound care, in no particular order. I wouldn’t send DS to any school that couldn’t deliver on those 3. We’d have moved or gone private.

Most important, by far, is reputation of the school. Go on the school’s website and read their July newsletter. How many of their staff were leaving at end of summer term? Ignore why they say the staff leave (if the staff quit in a rage / were fired the head will lie). But look at how many staff left and compare to other similar sized schools.

The July and Christmas newsletters may also tell you how much money the PTA raised in the xmas and summer fair. A PTA that raises a lot of money means a better equipped school and also that parents put time and energy into improving their children’s lives. That has huge implications.

Also look at where the children come from. Is the school in an area where the parents support their kids and clamp down on bad behaviour? Or do the parents work long hours or drink constantly and leave the kids to be raised by others?

I went for our local school so that we could walk / meet locals, and I massively regretted it and ultimately left. I should have picked the ‘outstanding’ rated school in the wealthy area a 20 minute drive away. Friends that went there adored it.

I didn't care about exam results in primary, far too much unnecessary pressure on young kids. Didn't care about the PTA.

I went with the school that I'd heard good things about via word of mouth.

I think most people approach by gut feeling.

I would think it depends on your child to some extent, especially points like whether it’s a big or small school, but DC1 was a very different child when she left at 11 to the 4 year old who had started in Reception. For me, it was important that it was a reasonably good school in terms of results and expectations and that it was within walking distance of home because I can’t drive. That didn’t leave a lot of choice.

Criteria for admission before everything else. No point in putting a school that you don’t meet the criteria for.

Walking distance / local friends over everything.

Not so much reputation as gut feel on looking round - will this suit my child?

Exam results - a tiny bit but not really because schools massage results by excluding dc or not admitting them in the first place / some of the schools with ‘best’ results are just hot housing the kids & the curriculum is narrowed as a result.

I looked for real inclusion and a cohort that matched the make up of our local area (a diverse city).

Wrap around care needs to be a factor if you’re working & will need it. School days are short as a parent!

ofsted report = not one jot.

Overall vibe and local reputation

Walkability

Wraparound care

I'm not overly bothered about anything else, but would want those three in place without a doubt. Would compromise on being able to walk IF parking wasn't too much of a nightmare, but it's a real issue around here with many school roads being made 'school streets' so you can't park on them.

1. wrap around care
2. distance to walk (but tied into this is admissions criteria, especially regarding faith schools we couldn’t meet criteria for)
3. gut feel, nurturing; children engaged on tour
4. languages taught (I favoured schools which taught the 2nd language spoken in a country my children have citizenship in but we don’t speak at home)

Reputation and results I did taken into consideration but some schools with good reputation and exam results I didn’t like as I felt they were too much like a “drill” school and either didn’t have the breadth of curriculum or put too much pressure on the kids.

@PinkMimi what did you end up going for?

Thank you everyone for your replies, it really helped and also got me thinking about other factors that I hadn’t even considered. We have submitted our application and the deadline has now passed :-).

We went for the bigger school (Approx 400 pupils, 10 min walk from house, wrap around care from 8am with it being avaliable till 6pm if needed. It would be nice if her school friends live nearby for when she is older and wants to go out and play where we live but also close so our daughter can have friends over for tea etc and I can drop them back. The school itself didn’t have the best ofsted but it’s since had a new headteacher but the exam results this year were above the national average and best in our town so that was positive. I know of 2 children who will be going to the same school from nursery, they aren’t her close friends that she likes to play with but it will be nice to have some familiarity at the new school. The PTA is really active and they seem to have raised quite a bit of money for trips and equipment. I had a look on their Facebook page and they have a summer fate, Christmas fate, wreath making event, discos, movie nights. Writing it down actually makes me feel good about my decision. I spent the weekend feeling sick about it and stressed, I think it was just the pressure of the deadline and wanting to get it right. There are some concerns which are things we would get in any school so I think this is as close as we can get to what we are looking for.

My priority list ended up being:

1. Within walking distance
2. Reputation of the school
3. Wraparound care
4. School friends living within walking distance / close by
5. Exam results
6. Size of the school (Big - 400 pupils)
7. Going from nursery going to the same school
8. Forming friendships with other parents / being part of a PTA.

Thanks again everyone ❤️. Did anyone else apply for a primary school place this weekend? What did you go for?