To want to hear positive stories about your primary schools!!

[PollyPeep]

Hello!
I've been reading the recent thread about behaviour in schools in absolute horror as I have a little one starting reception in September (inner city school with not such a great reputation, but we had no choice as all others completely oversubscribed). I've now got myself in a right state about the whole thing. Please, please give me your stories about your happy, thriving and learning primary school kids. I need to know it's not going to be all terrible 😭

We've had absolutely fantastic teachers all three years so far. They've recently added a PE teacher to their staff who also plays football etc with the kids during their lunch breaks. The kids all absolutely love him. It's quite an academic school rather than being big on extracurriculars but they also seem to care and understand children's mental health. My child was behind in most areas of his learning (mostly due to COVID, he started reception in 2020) but has been caught up in almost all areas and without consulting us has been sending him for "interventions" to work on his handwriting where he is still behind. That might sound bad that they haven't consulted us but I think it's great - they saw what he needed and made the necessary arrangements without it being a big deal. He enjoys his intervention classes, they make it really fun for the kids. Nothing is ever an issue, it's just something they can improve on or learn from.

Ours has been amazing and I will be sad when DC has to leave. DC started with SEN in reception and they could not have been more supportive - the SEN was overcome by the end of year 1 with their help.

Our primary school is lovely. I have one on Year 5 and one in Year 1. Both absolutely love it, are thriving and have lots of lovely friends.

Don't panic, you normally hear all the horror stories and not the nice ones. Here's hoping this thread will put your mind at rest.

My children’s.

we moved here specifically for the school

and completely worth it

Key is whether there is a high turnover of staff

In 6 years I think only one teacher has left - for retirement

Wonderful kind hard working teachers. A devoted professional head teacher. None of the nonsense you read on here. Worst thing we had was nits which admittedly wasn’t very nice ☹️

Our primary school is lovely, most are!

Ours is a small village school, all of the children know each other, my DS in Yr6 will hand hold and walk in with any little ones who are reluctant to go in as they know him. It's lovely, they are all taught to be kind and respectful and it shows. That to me means more than anything, as a result the children all seem happy and ready to learn.

My DS did his reception year at a bigger school in a not great area due to where we lived at the time and again it was great.

As long as your DC (once settled obviously) is happy and learning then I really wouldn't worry. I would just say to not be afraid of reporting any issues as and when they arise.

Your first going off to school is a really big deal, it's a start of a journey for all of you so you are bound to be feeling nervous.

Mine hVe attended five Primary schools. They have all had their positives and negatives... but they have all been absolutely fine overall. Definitely not horror stories!

My children's school is amazing, we are lucky as we were moving house just before and our house happened to come on the market in the catchment of the of the best school so it all fell into place.

The school in genuinely so good, the teachers are very caring, my children have learnt so much and they teach soft skills like manners and confidence too. They all have the opportunity to perform in termly assemblies and productions, no one is left out (my kids are shy so this is important to me) and there is zero tolerance for bullying and poor behaviour.

Honestly though all my friends are happy with their children's primaries, they become like a little family. I'm a former secondary teacher so am familiar with the poor behaviour at secondary, think it is less common at primary.

Most of the people commenting on that post were borderline bat shit crazy. Ignore them. The overwhelming majority of teachers do an amazing job to ensure the children are happy and settled in class. Yes there are problems with underfunding and support but as a parent you make sure you stand up for whatever your child needs. You don't need to tear others down to do that (contrary to what they would have you believe). Good luck to your little one. X

I'm a governor at 3 primary schools and the behaviour in all of them is excellent (I'm in a lot so have a wide experience base here).

I also visit quite a lot of schools as a teacher training tutor. I've yet to visit one where behaviour wasn't very good.

We’re really happy with our primary school.

Great friendships, learning well, nice environment, good community

@UsernameAlreadyTaken101

We were most certainly not bat shit crazy but you do you.

OP, I see that your child will be starting an inner city primary. As an outsider the most important thing that tells the story will be the retention of staff. A high turnover spells trouble.

Best of luck.

We have only had good experiences at primary although my eldest is just coming to the end of year 2. My middle child has SEN and the school have been amazing. Very occasionally communication can be a bit hit and miss, sometimes they send 5 emails in a day and others they tell you at 5pm that the kids need to dress up tomorrow!

That is highly dependent on who is responsible for recruitment. If it's the local council then the HT may have no say in who comes and goes. It's rotten for the children and the rest of the staff but often just down to poor management of human resources at council level. It is not necessarily a reflection on the school ethos.
Also, to add, being an inner city school is often a bonus as it can make things easier (and cheaper) for trips and visiting workshops and often allows the school to access sorely needed school fund boosting grants.

Our last school was a piece of shit and how it remained open I'll never know. Just yesterday, Ofsted put it in Special Measures. It had been Requires Improvement since 2016.

We moved school and its the most amazing place. I feel like I'm dreaming. DS comes out of school telling me about things that he learnt that day and it sounds like it's from a children's book. His teachers are all approachable, kind and intelligent. His headteacher loves her teachers and all the children.

I live in an area of the UK where teaching and TA roles are still lucrative and paid well compared to other roles.

I've just applied for a HLTA role there so wish me luck 😊 (it's had MANY applicants though!)

I do love my kids school. They really do try with all the kids. The sports day was the other day and it was nice seeing all the children cheer on everyone. Especially ones who were doing badly, they would specifically cheer their name.

@UsernameAlreadyTaken101

No, it’s really not. If you’re a teacher in a good school with good SLT and good colleagues there’s not a cat in hells chance you leave. Not in the current climate. Academy or not.

It is a simple as that. Good retention of staff is a very positive sign for the school overall if you’re looking in from the outside.

@UsernameAlreadyTaken101

My own children go to a very deprived inner city school (with fab teacher retention by the way) but I am laughing at all the money and resources for trips. What witch craft is this that you speak of. 😂😂

My year 6 is going to the local free museum (that she went to last year, and the year before prior to covid) and my year 3 is going to the local university to look round some lecture halls. All within walking distance.

As I have said, depending on the area and how the recruitment process works, teachers may not have a choice. Supply teachers rarely have a choice to stay and are often moved on from year to year. Our council have handed out very few permanent jobs in the last few years so more and more teachers are in a new school each year. It's a stupid system but that's the way it is. We must live and teach in very different parts of the country (assuming you are a teacher). I'm not sure where the OP lives so I can't comment specifically on her school but just trying to reassure her that movement of staff is not an immediate red flag.

@UsernameAlreadyTaken101

I have never heard of that recruitment process and many schools simply never use supply. Usually it’s because their retention is good and their staffs well-being is good. My children’s head teacher also steps in to cover which can be unheard of in many primaries. I’ve done supply and usually it’s the same schools requesting you time and time again due to poor behaviour and management.

It’s these schools that also have high percentages of unqualified teachers/instructors even at primary (it’s quite common not to have qualified teachers in the secondaries round here). My son hasn’t had a science teacher for the whole of his year 8 and I was amazed his English teacher lasted 1 term. She is leaving though at the end of this term, obviously. Wouldn’t expect anything less in the current climate.

Thanks. That thread honestly scared the life out of me and made me feel like I'd be sending my 4 year old into a warzone where he'd immediately become a hardened, swearing degenerate, ready for prison aged 5 😬 And when someone said that every parent in the UK needs to be prepared to home educate because it's reached desperation point, I was like 😶‍🌫️

It didn't help that at the recent stay and play I did see swearing and rough play with the current reception year. We're hoping to move out the area in a couple years but for now I'm just hoping it won't be as bad as it is in my mind.

There is a lot of money out there but it could be a full time job getting someone to hunt down and apply for all the grants needed. That's why more staff and preferably an active parent council help so much. We've had several great trips and visitors in this year and been able to give the kids experiences they would never normally be able to afford or access. National trust, local universities and big companies are good places to start. Museums and galleries tend to do free workshops for local schools as do the libraries.

I do appreciate your input but I'm only really looking for positive stories on this thread. Thanks.

My son goes to a great primary school and I'd say it's in a mixed area (major city). They've just got outstanding for behaviour/attitudes and I wouldn't change where he goes for the world.

Best of luck and wishes to your little one, I'm sure you'll be fine.