to want to start my own school?

[lambiee]

Would you ever send your child to school like this??

After being at my wits end with schooling (both primary and secondary, through my life; my life as a teacher and my children’s!) I am genuinely considering opening my own (probably boarding) school.

My idea is kids from years 3-9 where they stay in small, consistent classes of about 6-10 kids and have the same teachers throughout and one classroom which will always be ‘theirs’.

They can feel at home in the school and there is a democracy (not a teacher led dictatorship) within the class.

Lots of extracurricular subjects but without that awful competitiveness that seems to ruin activities you usually get in schools.

They’re allowed relative freedom when they have free time and technology is used only when it’s the best option for learning.

Is it wrong to just dream of a school that allowed kids to be kids without a constant barrage of exams; lots of silent work and never-ending pressure to be the best?

There’s a reason Britain’s schoolchildren are some of the unhappiest in the world and I really think this is it.

Sadly I don’t think it would do very well with Ofsted.

no

consistent classes of about 6-10 kids and have the same teachers throughout and one classroom which will always be ‘theirs’.

Already, just on your first point it's a no from me. With such a small class sizes children are unlikely to find like minded peers and make meaningful friendships.

Not to mention such small numbers would make the school financially precarious, which also put me off.

Sounds ideal, but doubt you'd get funding to run it as a state option and private fee paying parents generally want academic results.
How will you guarantee the same teacher throughout? Lock teachers into very long contracts? A great Y3 teacher might not be the best option for Y8 maths?

I know where you are coming from in an ideal world, but doubt it would work

@IceRebel, you are correct. I have sat on the governors for a private school, at that scale the finances are often unsustainable, not to mention the tiny peer groups.

Sounds like Summerhill.

Which I don’t mean as a compliment.

I thought of Summerhill too Matilda! Amazed to see it's still going, thought it was closed down years ago...

I've taught in schools with 6-10 children. Too few, no space to breathe when fallouts happen and less discussion etc able to happen. Also taught a class of 12(not bad, could be tricky at times with only 5girls) 20 (better) and 30. I would say approx 16 would be ideal. And I think it's important to have done change throughout their school life, otherwise it's not preparing them at all for real life.

Having said that in answer to you question I have thought about doing this myself, but reckon there would be far too much red tape.

I used to teach at a private school (overseas) which had a two class entry of about 14-16 at Y7. It was lovely.

When we moved back to the UK a few years ago, we looked at a private school for DD3. There would only have been 9 in her her year group. We rejected it purely on that basis. Part of school is learning how to deal with different people (staff and students). If you are with the same 6-8ish people from Y3 onwards, how will you learn this?

I think HE is what you are looking for OP

Pretty much sounds like the private school I attended.

-12 in my year
-Teachers were the ones who moved around the building and our classroom was always ours

• went from reception up to year 11
• teachers taught subjects not age groups so the science teacher taught science from reception to gcse, maths teacher taught maths from reception to gcse etc
• lost of extra curricular including ice skating, gymnastics, dance, rugby, football, guitar and piano lessons included in our music lessons etc
• we used a lot of the local area for our lessons, such as pe in the local park and walking to the leisure centre for swimming, acting in the local youth theatre
• it was a converted Victorian house fees were £1000 per term
• no exams other than GCSEs- as an independent school I never experienced any exams until year 11 as we didn’t do sats and with small class sizes there was no setting.

Exam results for GCSEs were always in the 90 odd percent pass rates and they were pretty stress free to be honest.

I have to say I have really fond memories of that school. I absolutely loved it. I’m Still in Touch with everyone even 20 years later and everyone did well for themselves (as in all seem to be happy doing whatever they ended up doing) I still even speak to my old teachers still as we had amazing relationships with the teachers. All the year groups really mixed together and became family as the older ones looked after the younger ones so my friendship groups aren’t limited to age. I really miss it as it got taken over by a company and they turned it into a private nursery when the headteacher sadly passed away

Your class sizes are too small. I've taught in a tiny school with only 14 children aged 6-11 (lots of very alternative ideas, Montessori plus Steiner plus other stuff) and it just didn't work. A few children had friends but most didn't have anyone they clicked with.

Classes of 14 if you have at least two form intake and mix the children up or bring them all together for parts of each day can work, so that if children don't have a natural friend in their class they have the other class available too.

6 is far too few children, inevitably someone won't have anyone to hang about with.

Yep I’d go for it and my son’s school has some similarities to the one you described.

It would be a no from me - Ds is private, and I’m worried there’s too few in his class at 12. I WANT him to have different teachers and classrooms so he’s confident with different adults and spaces.

That said, he has relative freedom - when it snowed the whole school sacked off lessons and all went sledging, and if the class is getting antsy the teacher will go take them for a walk in the woods or something.

I love Ds school because it’s nurtering and totally embraces each child’s individuality. However, Ds is going to the next stage school in September and he’s woefully unprepared - academically he’s top, but in terms of being worldly wise he’s utterly sheltered and it’s going to be a shock for him. Plus, as others have said, I’m not sure your school would be financially viable, how are you going to pay for resources and salaries with that small amount of pupils?!

I’d not send a three year old away to boarding school, especially not one run by a well meaning mumsnetter rather than actual qualified teacher.

It does sound like homeschooling may be for you. There are homeschool groups where I live where the children get to socialise with others and special groups at museums etc for their learning. I would imagine yo may be able to get together with other homeschooling parents and group teach some lessons or have a tutor for a group of children but I dont do it, so I'm imagining how nice it would be .
I don't think I'd send my child to the school you described. You would have to charge such high fees that if I wanted that kind of education for my children, I would just give up work and homeschool. Also, what would they do after year 9? They have spent 7 years running free with all the same friends and then suddenly they would have to join a much larger secondary school in their GCSE options year- so they would have to cope with all that while also having to make new friends and fitting in.

Essentially what they are trying to do Wales' new curriculum...but won't change gcses so in reality because the end goal is the same, not much will change :/

NannyRed year 3 not 3 year olds and she says she is a teacher.

Still no though.

You seem incredibly black and white. It’s either what you described or some kind of Dickensian workhouse.

My children - busy outstanding competitive state school. They Bloody love it.

No from here. My kids get bored being in the same classroom with the same teacher for one year, they love moving on to something different and more grown up feeling. And what if the teacher they got wasn't one they gelled with? DD is barely tolerating her teacher this year, she isn't learning much isn't speaking in class and can't wait to move on. Variety is good.

Would this model actually be sustainable? Classes of 6-10 are very small, and whilst the individual attention would be great, it may not be a viable business model unless fees are very high.

I don't think staying with the same 9 kids from Year 3 to Year 9 would be great for all children. Sometimes you can get personality clashes or kids who just don't click with the group, and they may end up being miserable.

You also can't guarantee that teachers won't change over time. Whilst some do stay in one school for long periods, it's very unlikely a class would have no staffing changes for 6 years. Again, this also might not be great if there is a clash between one teacher and a student or a student doesn't get on with a particular student's teaching style.

It also may be hard to find staff that are confident teaching from Y3 to Y9 as teachers are usually trained for KS1 and 2, or KS3/4/5.

How would staying in the same room work for science and technology based subjects?

How does the democracy aspect work? What if one of the students is infringing on the ability of others to learn? How far does this go? Do the class get to decide everything about what they will learn- or is this just on the discipline side? What about things where it can't be a democracy- e.g. safeguarding/health and safety issues? Personally, I do think 7yos and 13yos need adult guidance in the classroom for different reasons.

Lots of kids like competitiveness and technology. Lots of adults want this for their children too.

I think you'd find a lot of parents choosing this sort of small and nurturing school when their children were young, but many would outgrow it by the time they were in Y4/5/6, which could leave the older years tiny. It might be better running from YR-Y6. I'm also not sure the sort of parents who like this school overlap with the sort of parents who want boarding.

6 would be a really bad number of kids. You'd either have 4 boys/2 girls or vice-versa which is a real imbalance, or you'd have 3 and 3 which could easily see 1 boy and 1 girl left out if the other 2 pal up.

Plus even if you average 8 kids per year group paying 9k each that's just over 500k for the building costs, utilities, staff costs, equipment, food/drinks if boarding plus all the extra curriciulars you mentioned. That's not a big budget at all.

Would far prefer a bigger class than 6 to 10. Far too limiting. Democracy not teacher led? A no from me.

I don't mean a complete democracy, just within what's reasonable (not a complete free-for-all) e.g. how a classroom is organised, what order different topics are taught in, etc.

In the school I went to the classes ranged from 4-12 (when 2 years were put together) and it really was amazing, everyone got included and even if not everyone in the big classes were best of friends, even the clashing personalities managed to get on with one another.

I know it's probably not viable, it's just a lovely daydream.

Democracy??? In the classroom??? You do know what they say about trying to get anything done by committee??

Class sizes waaaaaaaay too small. Id say 16 is better.

Some children thrive off competition.

Some children, actually lots, learn better ina. Quiet environment. Probably why people read books in libraries and not raves.

Sounds rather like home schooling with more kids.

I would welcome the absence of targets and exams but nothing else about the set up (and any private school can ditch SATS and other state targets). Boarding from y3? Tiny classes? Only one teacher? Democratic ie pupils can outvote the teacher?

Perhaps this might work for some specific children with SEN who struggle in a large or noisy environment or with the rigidity of school routine - so they would be able to attend your school even if they couldn’t cope with other schools.

However for the “average” child, I would worry it is far too much of a tiny unrealistic bubble. What happens when they leave in year 9? They will need to enter another school and the public exam system. Will your pupil-led, no tests, low pressure, high ratio environment leave them ready to start the GSCE curriculum?