Where would you want your child to go?

[catonacoldshedroof]

(This isn't my child, but is happening to my sister and niece)

They've recently moved and applied to the local school, who rejected saying the year group was full with 32 children.

They've appealed and have been informally told there may be two options-

1. Join the class anyway, with two other applicants, making it a class of 35.
2. Join the year below where there are only 18 children, but be out of year group.

35 children in one class seems like too many. But being out of year group surely isn't a solution? I think she needs to look at other schools instead.

What would you do?

It would depend on the age/year group of my child.

Grade 1 and below, I would go for the lower year level, Grade 2, depend on my child and their schooling/social abilities, Grade 3 and above, I'd look for another school.

A child in a class of 35 would be lost in the group... and that poor teacher trying to help them!

Another school. 35 is too big a class for pupils or teacher.

How old is she?

how likely is the lower year group to fill up?

what are other local schools like?

Depends how old they are, 4/5/6 probably just go with year below. Don't think it would cause too much issue. Any older and I'd look for another school.

She's 10, in Y5.

I don't know the area, but there are other schools within about 10 minutes drive away. The school in question is a 2 minute walk away.

It would depend on the school and the general behaviours within it but. At DS's school I'd be happy with a class of 35 at y5. If it was the last school DH worked at I'd be unhappy with a class of 18!!

I’d stick with it as they may merge the two classes. And a class of 35 isn’t that big if you compare it to other schools.

If she's already 10 in yr5 then she's a September baby so absolutely not putting her in the year below.

Either suck up the bigger class (has your sister asked how they expect the manage the class, TA provision etc?) Or go to another school. I know everyone wants to get their child in to the best or closest school when they move but it isn't always possible and sometimes you've just got to go where there is space.

A different school, a class of 35 would be beyond stressful for the teacher who wouldn't be able to do a good job under that stress. Also your dd will get a better education when 1 teacher doesn't have to stretch themselves so far.

@OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea yes, she's always one of the oldest in her classes!

I'm not 100% certain about this, but it sounds like there is one TA who doesn't work with the class as a whole, but with a couple of specific children. That's a good idea, though. I'll tell her to ask about classroom support and how they propose to manage if it goes to 35.

In my own situation, I’d take the class of 35 or choose a school and drive ten minutes. My dd is oldest in her class and able, so to feel she was doing y5 “again” would have made her feel very unhappy and isolated. She was bored in her own year group, repeating work that many kids were struggling to understand after missing out from Covid, so I imagine being with the kids going over last year’s curriculum would be awful.

Totally different if the school planned a mixed year class - that can work brilliantly. I had two of those at my small junior school, but there was no national curriculum and the teachers did it every year, they taught us to work independently or in small groups. We had no whole class teaching of maths, so I was never left staring out of the window waiting for time to pass like my poor dd has been. Imagine having to sit listening to what y4 is doing - all your friends - waiting to be given your own special extension work for Y5. I cannot imagine even in a small class, a teacher would manage that particularly well (lots of wasted time for your niece).

theres a chance it will only be a class of 33 if the other two applicants choose to go elsewhere.

I would NOT go into the year below. 18 kids doing Y4 work, and just one or two doing Y5? No thanks. How would your dsis feel if the other two parents chose the larger Y5 class and yours was the only one left behind redoing Y4 (because in reality, that is what will feel like is happening )? What would happen next year - how can a teacher prepare one single child for SATS?

.

Much better to go into the year below I think.
Laughing so much at the idea of taking the school to appeal and then immediately being all demanding about how the school is going to manage the extra children.
At least give the school SLT 5 minutes to have a meeting and discuss!

I'd go for the other school tbh. Unless making a class 35 pupils means the school would then split them to become 2 classes of 17/18?

I definitely wouldn’t want my child going into the year below. Why can’t they choose the school with a 10 min drive? We have a 15-20 min drive every day. It’s fine.

Stick with local school bigger class. Socially really important to make local friends and academically better to be in the correct year group, especially if September baby.

I’d find another school. 35 is too big for a primary class, and moving into the year below isn’t a realistic option. If she went into the year below, would she carry on a year behind throughout her entire education or would she have to start Y7 without having done Y6?

Different school.