moving primary school your experiences

[hoefkjn]

We've had our house on the market for ages but our sale just fell through and am just done with it. In this market it doesn't seem viable to move but I really don't like our area and the secondaries are terrible. Our plan was to move just before primary admissions but now we might have to stay here for a year or two. So how hard do kids find moving primaries? I really wanted some continuity for dd especially as she's an only but it doesn't seem to be working out. If you moved area during primaries, how did your kids find it? And when would be the best time?

I moved my children in yr 4 and yr 2. I then had to move one of those children again in year 7. They were absolutely fine, but i think it probably is easier the younger they are. They loved the first few weeks where everyone wanted to be their friend because they were new and they still talk about it now!

I think it very much depends on the child. We knew we were going to move to a different area but the house wasn't ready before DD was due to start primary. I didn't think she would cope well with starting a primary where we were and then moving again a year later, so we moved out into rented accommodation so she could start primary in our new location.

I am sure a move like that would not bother my DS in the slightest, so if it had been him I was thinking about, we would probably have stayed where we were until the new house was ready to move into.

As a child I did Reception in one school and then moved for year 1. I was excited and not remotely worried. Young children see new children as a novelty and all want to show them around etc. So for most children I would hope it would be fairly smooth. Of course there are some that may find it trickier.

We relocated at the end of our daughter's Reception year (she's in Y2 now) and she's been absolutely fine. She settled really quickly and loves her school. I definitely worried about it more than she ever did.

To go against the grain, my 7 year old found it incredibly hard moving schools in Year 3. He really missed his friends and has never quite found friends he feels as comfortable with.

But I think that’s bad luck as everyone I asked before we did it said their kids were fine with it!

We moved in Dec last year so mine were mid year 1 and 4 at the time. Took a little while to settle but the school were great and they're flying now

We moved DS yr 4 very recently. He has a medical condition they needs managing, staff had to be trained and struggles academically but he has settled in beautifully. I wish we had moved sooner after serious issues for a year at the last school.

He had been with all the old classmates since nursery but tbh they were mostly soon forgotten. The ones he wants to keep in contact with he sees at cubs, swimming and sadly Fortnite.

They are very good at making new children feel welcomed.

Ok, thanks everyone. Curious to know, how did you find things like getting to know other parents, connect with the school community, organising playdates etc? I think that am struggling with the fact that our original plan collapsed and I am now trying to figure out how best to proceed.

Weve done it a few times. One move was truly horrendous for DD1. One was tricky for DD2. The others were fine.

The horrendous move involved DD being out of school for half a term while they found her a place. Which lead to her becoming really anxious over school, and school refusal for a bit... then Covid hit! But that was a rare situation... her schol year is a very high birth year.

One move, very early on, will be fine.

I've made better connections to other parents and the community since moving. Might be a difference of moving from city centre where people travelled from a huge catchment area to a much more suburban school where everyone is local. I didn't find it a problem though.

My DS went to 7 schools before he started secondary (only 1 secondary school though). Kids are remarkably adaptable, they make new friends and sometimes keep in touch with the old.

We moved at year 2 and year 4 because we moved location and we also moved them again at year 3 and year 5 because the original new school was appalling during the pandemic and basically abandoned the children.
Both times it has been find and the second move (the pandemic one ) was the best parenting decision we have ever made

Fine - not find

That sounds truly awful, why so many moves?

Depends on the child. I moved schools a lot as a child because we moved house a lot and never found it a problem to make new friends quickly but I was a very outgoing and confident child.

I went to 5 schools by the time I was 8. I even started reception at 3 but did year 3 twice to get back in the correct cohort. Honestly it was fine, I kept old friends along the way, always made new ones!

Reception year was in a different school to year 1 as we lived rurally in Scotland the primary school didn’t have reception equivalent. He did 8 weeks there.

We then moved overseas to 2 countries (Asia - 9 months in 1 and a year in the other) due to my DH’s work. Back to the UK (England this time) for a year and then back over seas for 2.5 years back to the UK and his final primary school for 2 terms (steep learning curve for SATs).

It was right for us as a family and the adventure of a lifetime. Very well adjusted children who have fond memories of their childhood and are very flexible.

But we got very good at changing school. My top tips are get uniform and start being enthusiastic, invite people around for play dates quickly (DIY pizza worked well for us), get them into clubs, know that moving is a rollercoaster - there will be ups and downs but always exciting. And keep contact with key friends from the old place, you don’t have to loose old friends to make new ones.

Wow, that really is a lot of changes. We are hoping to only do it once.