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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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to keep DD home rather than send her to this?

207 replies

Sleeplesssister · 05/01/2014 19:55

My DD aged 3 is meant to be attending an activities session tomorrow which will assess whether she gets into a certain girls prep school that DH is very keen on. Problem is, she has been throwing up since Saturday. DH says that if she manages breakfast tomorrow we should still send her, and that although we could re-schedule, the prep school will probably allocate all its places tomorrow so she will be at a disadvantage if they don't see her...

We will obviously see how she is tomorrow morning, and ask her how she feels about going to 'have a play' at this school, but my heart strings are going at the thought of sending her along when she is not feeling at her best. I went to school abroad so don't know how these sorts of schools work, anyone have any ideas or views?

OP posts:
BrianTheMole · 06/01/2014 04:10

Oh. And why I moved to an area where the local school is excellent when he was barely one.

Well, in that case you paid your way in to get the school that you wanted for your dc anyway then didn't you. No difference in paying for a school or paying the premium for a house near an excellent state school.

I know you didn´t ask what I thought of people who move onto the doorstep of excellent state primaries. I'm telling you anyway.

coralanne · 06/01/2014 04:25

BrianTheMole Grin . Extremely clever.Pity we don't have a "like" button

bochead · 06/01/2014 05:26

Gotta snigger as at 3 my own DS was the perfect pupil - top scores on all his eyfs tick boxes, used as the example pupil for ofstead, new parents viewings, staff training etc. The ideal performing monkey poor love, he could even read "cat sat on mat" level books, was polite, sociable, shared his toys kind, yada yada. As a toddler he was almost too good iykwim.

Age 4.5 when he started school, it all fell apart. He wound up being one of the 1.5 kids that has a statement due to complex needs and can't cope in mainstream at all. He's 3 years behind academically now too. Many children with issues like dyspraxia, dyslexia etc can only be effectively diagnosed at about 7 - yet these are the types of disabilities that can severely drag down the academic progress of even the brightest child.

3 is WAY to young to do anything but weed out the most obvious physical disabilities in the children & any crazy loon parents. Sadly not all private nurseries are in buildings properly adapted to take the full range of physical disabilities, or have the funds to make the adaptations that might be required.

Sending in a kid who is not past the 48 D&V vomiting rule risks that kid being sick on the carpet and firmly demonstrating the parents come under the crazy loon category & thereby causing the staff to heave a sigh of relief at having dodged that bullet when they send out your rejection letter.

As a point of principle I deliberately chose a nursery that had as wide a range of children from different backgrounds, and a few with disabilities too. That's because this is the age to teach tolerance, kindness, sharing and all those compassionate qualities that basically make people more likeable, altruistic and socially successful in later life.

It paid off as my lad was later diagnosed with ASD traits so that early emphasis on socialisation was far,far more important than I realised at the time & is the reason why I think he manages to make friends in most environments despite his disability. The sign language he learnt in his eagerness to communicate with everyone also helped his language development in a way I didn't understand till much later. At the time I just thought it was nice that he was learning to be inclusive in his friendship group.

As parents we need to nurture the whole child, even when we are lucky enough to give birth to a genius. Sadly many truly gifted individuals do not have the happiest personal and emotional lives and that's important too.

Oh and most parents want the best for their kids. It really is only a teeny,tiny minority who don't. That's a true fact across all races, socio-economic class and nations, and has been since the dawn of time.

PinkLemons · 06/01/2014 06:19

How is she today OP? We live abroad and DD has to have assessments to get in to school here. All they do is watch them play. They are looking to see how they interact with adults and children and check their level of speech etc. if she is her normal self then go ahead and take her. If she is off colour there is no point as she might become clingy or not interact as she would normally and won't give the best impression. Ignore the mean comments. Most nurseries and prep schools do some level of assessment even if they don't call it that.

PinkLemons · 06/01/2014 06:20

How is she today OP? We live abroad and DD has to have assessments to get in to school here. All they do is watch them play. They are looking to see how they interact with adults and children and check their level of speech etc. if she is her normal self then go ahead and take her. If she is off colour there is no point as she might become clingy or not interact as she would normally and won't give the best impression. Ignore the mean comments. Most nurseries and prep schools do some level of assessment even if they don't call it that.

PoppySeed2014 · 06/01/2014 06:37

arethereanyleft You clearly have little or no idea how the best private schools work. There are 400. Applications for 28 places at our nearest private school. For age 3 entry.

"Add a 0 to the cheque..." hollow laugh

PoppySeed2014 · 06/01/2014 06:41

BriantheMole Genius Smile

The best state primary near us has a catchment area of 5 roads. Minimum house price £1.5 million. And it's full of parents who are terribly smug about sending their child to a state school. It's also less racially and socially diverse than our very competitive local private schools.

ThePearShapedToad · 06/01/2014 07:47

Grin brianthemole

op how is your dd today?

autumnsmum · 06/01/2014 08:25

Op I really wouldn't take dd if she has vomited within last 48 hours

JohnnyUtah · 06/01/2014 08:29

Can't believe this thread. The op should follow the school's d and v policy which will be 48 hours from last incident. Simple as that.

FrauMoose · 06/01/2014 08:32

But surely the parent who 'wants the best' for their child takes them to a ridiculous (just check they're normal) assessment, when they've recently been vomiting....

Holycowiloveyoureyes · 06/01/2014 09:15

Good heavens above your child should have to mix with "abnormal" children.

Christ on a bike. This is why I hate selective schools. If you're rich enough and "normal" enough you can have an outstanding education. Fuck those of us who don't have the money or have children with additional needs.

My DS is highly intelligent, well above average, is a complete maths whizz, but his probable ASD would stop him accessing a top school? FFS.

elliejjtiny · 06/01/2014 10:45

Me too Holycow. DS1 and DS3 might have a chance of getting into a school like that but DS2 and DS4 wouldn't, because of their additional needs. And TBH I wouldn't want DS1 or DS3 to go to a school where they were taught that they were better than their brothers even if I could afford it. DS1 and DS2 go to the local primary. It's not a brilliant school according to Ofsted and league tables but everyone is welcome.

Dromedary · 06/01/2014 13:54

If the child is not allowed into the school because of a disability, presumably the parents could in theory sue under the Disability Discrimination Act?

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 06/01/2014 14:26

Yes..especially if they worded it as the child being "abnormal" as some have here, which is nice.

CaramelisedOnion · 06/01/2014 14:31

Yeah...I don't live in a 1.5million house. I moved back to the UK from living abroad after having to leave my abusive ex. I am s single parenton a very low income (159 quid a week) and receive no maintainence. I just did my research at the time. I'm DEFINITELY not in the privileged middle class parent pays to live in massive house near good state school. I'm just resourceful.

And I don't like the assumption that if you want the best for your child you send them to private school.

autumnsmum · 06/01/2014 14:44

I wouldn't want dd2 who attends a special school to go to a school that assesses children in this way. I wouldn't personAlly pursue a discrimination claim because I wouldn't want her in an environment where she was unwrlcome

manicinsomniac · 06/01/2014 15:52

some of you have a very inaccurate idea of what modern independent schools are like. They have many children with additional needs. Some even specialise in various specific learning difficulties.

NewtRipley · 06/01/2014 15:57

OP

I wouldn't send her anywhere tomorrow if she's been vomiting today.

The fact that you are considering it does suggest that you feel pretty anxious about her getting into this school. I think that's a bit of pressure for a 3 year old and that's what disconcerts some of us.

Fleta · 06/01/2014 16:04

I send my daughter selective. She's 7 and been attending the school part time from 2-3 and then full time from 3 weeks before she was 4.

I didn't select on the basis of fear of who she'd mix with (as some posters have suggested) in a state school. I chose it because of its nurturing atmosphere and that was the school out of several we visited that fit her.

And what is "normal" anyway [shrug] My daughter is wonderfully eccentric - and is totally embraced by school.

coco44 · 06/01/2014 16:08

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fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 06/01/2014 16:26

It's more than "unpolitically correct" its very offensive.

So why keep repeating it?

Why not say "checking they had no SEN".

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 06/01/2014 16:28

Seriously. .I would personally be very grateful if no more people used the expression " normal" to describe no SN.

Please.

Pretty please.

Just don't say it.

NewtRipley · 06/01/2014 16:34

coco

It's "politically incorrect", which is a crap phrase anyway. It means offensive

FrauMoose · 06/01/2014 16:35

You could argue that children who attend independent/private primary schools are not 'normal'. They are a very small percentage of the population, they will typically have parents whose annual income is very much higher than the median wage. It is unlikely that they will be socialising with children who are not from similarly affluent backgrounds - and are therefore likely to grow up with a very incomplete and inaccurate understanding of the society they live in.

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