What matters most when choosing a primary school?

[Spuck]

I think I’m massively overthinking this.

In the catchment area for 2 schools, school A is simply a beautiful setting. Endless outdoor space, very modern, it’s a forest school which I like and overall has a lovely feel to it. It’s a big 3 form entry school. However, their academic performance rates as well as absence and attendance records aren’t great. It’s rated Good by Ofsted.

School B is slightly dated, facilities aren’t as nice, still a nice school and staff are brilliant but it doesn’t feel modern, it looks like it needs a good refresh. However… rated Outstanding by Ofsted and has brilliant performance reports & attendance rates. It is also smaller (2 form entry) and feels a bit less daunting and bit more personal/homely, if that makes sense!

So… which one?! What matters most when choosing?

Firstly, you’re not choosing, you’re selecting a preference. The place you get is based on whether you meet the admission criteria.

Assuming you meet the admission criteria for the two schools, go to their open evenings, look around, get a feel for the school.
See if you are welcome to visit on a school day too, then you can see how the school operates in terms of relationships, behaviour around the school.
Are the children happy and engaged, confident and articulate, bearing in mind there may be some with learning differences.

Ultimately, it mostly boils down to how comfortable and enthusiastic you are when you’ve visited.

You've looked at the facts and figures, which, whilst important, are only part of the picture. The rest is your perception.

Why would you care about attendance rates? Not being goady, genuine question. It doesn't affect you or your child in the slightest.

Both sound good options but only you know where your child would suit best (forest Schoo? smaller school? etc) and not think too much on Ofsted results, which trust me as a teacher really aren't the best indicator of the right school for a child.

Ofsted... only matters if its less than a couple of years old.

Visit and see which one feels right.

Whichever one is the easiest to get to.

How close it is to where you live.

Whichever feels right when you're there. I think you'll have an instinct about it. But compare that with what you know if your child- are they social and outgoing? Bigger school unlikely to daunt them and they love being outdoors? Or bit shy or nervous or thrive in small settings?

Smaller is better usually, imho of course

Why are you concerned about attendance rates? That’s up to parents and luck that children don’t get illnesses that mean time off school.

Good vs Outstanding wouldn’t bother me either.

One of my kids was very outdoorsy so the Forest School would have been a good incentive to pick that one.

2 form entry is a good size so that wouldn’t bother me at all.

Does either primary feed into a specific secondary?
It sounds very difficult to pick between the 2 schools.

Where the people seem kindest

Which one has better wrap around provision? Honestly it was the first priority for us, no good having great teachers and grounds etc but no wrap around care.

For me, attendance rates would concern me because teachers' time is being diverted to catching up individual pupils who have missed a new concept rather than teaching the class as a whole.

Whichever one is easier to get too. If either of them have coloured polo tops rather than white ones that's a bonus too!

All the local primaries around here have been downgraded. Don’t make a decision based on academics (unless they’re appalling) for little kids, it’s really not worth it. Go with your heart

This and where you feel most at home.

Some attendance can be explained away by luck of the draw with illness, but some of it will be indicative of how much importance parents at the school place on attendance, which in turn probably tells you a bit about how the parents there view education generally. Being in a class where most children read at home every night, practice their times tables and spellings and generally have very engaged caregivers will be a different experience to being in a class where next to no-one does those things at home.

High rates of persistent absence may also indicate that the school is poor at catering for neurodivergent pupils or other issues that prevent children from attending school.

OP - just go get a feel of them and go with your gut plus a little sprinkling of whichever direction the data points you in.

Go and have a look around the schools to get a proper feel for them. I went on gutters instinct two years ago. However I had planned my preferences in advance and ended up switching two schools. Its was ultimately the headteacher that put,e off one school as he was only interested in English, maths, history and art ( I'm a head of subject in a secondary school and not any of these subjects). Whereas the other school felt friendlier and less pushy for the children. They seemed to aim for well rounded children. Have some questions ready when you visit.

As others have suggested I'd visit them both and see how you feel. We saw three, one was outstanding rated but I just didn't get the gut feeling, it just felt cold and forced.

Whereas the one we chose, massive 3 classes per year primary was good rated but felt fantastic - just how the kids looked when they bumped into the head, ( happy )the head knowing their names and stuff like that.

Don't underestimate how beneficial forest school is to kids, we have it and it's amazing - a good experience for those not used to the outdoors and great for mental health. Not great for washing though, my DC had a mud pit and they all went in there like hippos. They loved it 🤣

That would trump it for me.

The nearest one. The one you can walk to.

The one that most cares about the children's well being, where the head teacher is down to earth and has a strong vision that you agree with. Also ease of getting there, after school / breakfast clubs if you might use these. Go visit - every school is different.

This.

Make your life easier. Most of the other stuff is immaterial as long as you support education at home.