Wwyd? Dh and I can't quite agree

[Marvelendgamekids]

Dd starts school in September. She's been offered our higher preference school. It's a church school which I like (I know others wouldn't but it's a plus for us) good ofsted, good results, our eldest went there (now left) as we lived in the area at the time, but it's 1.5 miles away. So a good 30 minutes walk, although as I work I'd be driving and using the wrap around childcare anyway a lot of the time, so only a 3 minute drive.

I'm having second thoughts, there is another school a 5 minute walk from our house. Ofsted and results haven't been very good at all recently, but, it's still a popular and nice local school, usually very oversubscribed. I could walk dd to/from school some mornings and afternoons which I've always wanted to do, and she might make more friends locally. Oh and the school do still have places.

Downside is if I was driving to go straight off to work, it's actually slightly awkward due to having to go all the way around a one way system and school being in the middle of a housing estate.

I'm really torn, dh thinks we should just let it be and stick with the church school, but equally he hasn't got a strong opinion and is happy to leave final decision it to me. Other people think I'm mad not to just send her to the closest school.

I’d go for the nearer school. I didn’t and regret it - would have been easier for DC to make local friends that they can pop round to see easily. I think at primary, so long as school is generally good, then being close and in easy walking distance is a huge plus.

Go with the better school.

I’d say it was a no brainier tbh.
You have experience of the church school, you know it’s good and Ofsted report is good (some don’t think that matters, I do)
A new head, staff leaving, teething problems etc?
Nah
Wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole. A good head teacher is vital to lead a good team.
Local friends won’t necessarily be a blessing.
Who knows where the kids your daughter makes friends with will live?
Go for the school that you are confident will give your daughter a good, solid all round start to her education

Otherwise consider what secondary you want your child to attend and whether either primary school acts as a natural feeder school (with planned transition days etc).

This ^^

Dd doesn't care, she's only 3 soon to be 4.

Arnoldb yes, they have space, I rang the school and the LA, I've been told that it's a low birth year and lots of schools are undersubscribed.

i put mine in a school 6 mins drive away and he hated it, gone from a child who loved school to dreading every single day and sobbing himself to sleep
once he told us how he felt, we decided to move him to a school 25 mins drive away, hes now happy and loves school, i think its also important to be prepared to change if the school doesn't fit the child

To me the biggest factor is that you already know the church school and your older child was happy there. The least important is what your parents and ILs think - it's really your decision, not theirs. I get what you're saying about local friends, walking home together in y6, etc, but 1.5 miles really isn't that far - friends will still be reasonably local - and making decisions at reception age based on factors that might be important in y6 is daft imo. A lot can happen in 7 years. I would focus on the educational and pastoral at the moment, and let the social sort itself out. I must say I'm a bit unimpressed at your DH's lack of engagement with a decision that's obviously bothering you a fair bit!

We have 2 good schools in our village but we still sent DD to the school in the next village. She has made friends easily.

It only really matters if you let your kids play outside and knock on each others doors. Which at the age of 4 or 5 is not really worth worrrying about.

I'd go with the better school 1.5 miles away.

As for secondary schools, that a can of worms.

The church school is a feeder to an excellent secondary, but, our eldest didn't get in as it's o oversubscribed.

The local primary is a feeder for two secondaries, one good, one not so much.

But a lot can change in 7 years.

This system of applying to schools in England I find ridiculous, how will a school ever improve if people swerve it? Schools can improve with the support of the community and parents. Go to your local school and DD will make friends nearby, make life simple. It's P1 not university.

Bookworm4 would you not ‘swerve’ a school that wasn’t able to offer your child the opportunities that an alternative could?
Surely it’s natural to want the best for our kids?

I am assuming you must live in a city because round where I am from the schools are all about 4 miles apart so noone would consider 1.5 miles away as not local.

You made the decision initially for a reason and I suspect the reasons haven't changed so I would stick with "the devil you know".

The head at the closest one would be my main worry. Otherwise I would always choose the closer one. But this is not a little thing - if the head is not good, it can lead to staff leaving or a bad atmosphere.

Our close school is 1.5 miles away! Like another poster, we walk in and I really treasure those chats with DD.

And isn't a church school more likely to draw in people from further afield? So she wouldn't be the only one not "right there" (but, really, 1.5 miles is right there!).

And I wouldn't worry about year 6 - did you worry that you might move when your DS started there? You could very well move more than 1.5 miles over the next 7 years....

I must say I'm inclined to think that ofsted and results aren't terribly important at primary level

With the amount of people that I encounter that can't read, write, do simple arithmetic properly and/or have atrocious grammar, I'm inclined to disagree.

Stick with the Church school, I’ve learnt from experience to avoid the school that is ‘just having a few problems’.

My DC are at school about 1.5 miles away as are many of the local children so the friendship argument is not an issue imo. What is more of an issue is having a year 6 child that is ill equipped for secondary school because their primary wasn’t quite up to the mark (not my kids fortunately but a friend of mine had massive issues with this very thing).

I don’t know where you are in the country op but no school worth it’s salt has reception places still available now, it’s a bun fight to get a good place. I think you’d be bonkers to give up your place and will regret it later on.

I think there's a lot to be said for going to a local school and being part of that community. We used to live very near my children's primary school, all the kids knew each other and popped roud to play, there was lots of stuff on and we knew nearly everyone if we went to the local park. Plus I made lots of local friends from the parents and kids could walk to school (once they got older) which in year 5 and 6 gives lots of independance. Personally a church school would put me off, but I'm not religious in any way so that's probably why. Most primaries are muc of a muchness but you will instantly get 'a feel' once you look round and your child will too.

@Greeborising
I live in Scotland and we go to our catchment school. I believe a child can thrive in any school, people come through our school system and go onto University/ good careers there's no need for this system in England, parents have created this situation with good/bad schools, if people sent their kids to their nearby school there would more than likely be a general improvement.

Bookworm4 I agree in principle, an ideal world situation.
But in certain areas (I’m in London) you can find several schools available as a choice (haha) and inevitably some are way better than others.
We have a school very near indeed to where we live and I would have moved heaven and earth for my kids not to go there.
Sometimes a school can be so bad or so good that it’s location becomes irrelevant

My 2yo will happily walk 3 miles with the dog. 1.5 is nothing. I'd go with the better school personally.

Whether one school is a feeder to a good or bad secondary school doesn’t matter. It only indicates that a high proportion of pupils in school x end up in school y.

I wouldn’t take any decisions based on that. By the way, I agonised for years about us being in a bad catchment for secondary school and now, the bad secondary is classed as better than the then top one I always wanted DS to attend. Incidentally, when I looked at both schools the school I preferred all the time gave me a very bad vibe. It wasn’t the right school for DS at all, neither was the other one so he ended up in another one, even much further away, I had never contemplated until we went to the open day.

Ours go to a school 10 miles away because it's on DH route to work. I work an hour away in the other direction. On days he's away it is a pain, and as they're sporadic there's no chance to use bus etc. Lovely school etc but our local one would really have been just fine.
I also didn't spot that when they joined rainbows and brownies ALL the other girls would know each other as they're at the local school. Not great.