To not send child to a school just because it’s close

[CCW14]

i will be starting to look for a primary school soon for DS to start Reception next Sept. We have a primary school that is round the corner from us, less than a minute walk which DH says we should send DS to because its close, but even though it is ofsted rated Good, whenever I speak to other parents or the local Fb group, they all say ‘It’s fine’ or ‘It’s okay’. Isn’t that code for its not great but I don’t want to be rude? They also still have spaces for this september and have been advertising a lot that they have spaces open, where other schools all had theirs spaces filled

We have another school that is well recommended and about 15mins walk away so will probably put that as my first preference, but was thinking of putting a school that we would have to drive to as a second preference as they also seem highly recommended and have a good after school programme

Ds is very curious, loves learning and I have been told by nursery and others that he is very smart. I think we should send him to a better school as education takes priority over convenience, and I don’t want him to get bored at school if he is learning stuff he already knows. DH thinks convenience takes priority and primary school won’t make much difference

I will obviously visit all schools and have a look but think it’s quite hard to judge on an open day as everyone is on their best behaviour. And I know just because I put a school down, it doesn’t guarantee I will get a spot.

so what do you think?

YABU - Husband is right! Make your life easier and send him to the closer school
YANBU - Primary school is the foundation of learning and will have an impact on later education

I think ofsted ratings are a crock of shit - outstanding schools don't get visited for years after getting that rating. I chose a "good" school over an "outstanding" one - honestly the one we chose had a much better feel about it - the outstanding one sure had the latest gadgets and glitzy and expensive looking and my daughters looked a little tired around the edges but it had a much nicer welcoming feel - when we we visited we were shown around by a pupil. When we went to look at the outstanding one we were given a map and waved off. Very corporate and not welcoming.

I do personally think parents shouldn't be able to apply out of catchment and should go to the most local school to them

I'll also add that lots of parents drive to school even if they're two streets away, because they're dashing off to work afterwards.
I do this with nursery sometimes because I don't have time to walk home and then get to work.

My DC don't go to our closest primary. We visited it & hated it. DC go to the next closest, but it's semi rural so we have to drive (otherwise it's walking along a busy A road, across fields or on country lanes with no pavement. We're lucky in that the school is located opposite the village car park, so parking isn't an issue.
If someone asked me about DCs school I'd say it was fantastic. It has its cons, but the pro's outweigh them. So if parents are saying it's fine, its obviously not amazing.
Definitely visit them all. I'd advise arranging to visit on a normal day if you can - then you'll see a bit of reality, not a sanitised open day version.

My dd went to a primary school that was amazing for sen children but absolutely shit for the more able students. You really need to judge the individual school for your own child.

Also this. I'll get flamed for saying it but it was obvious one of the schools in my catchment was well regarded for SEN support and had an above average number of pupils with SEN. When I compared statistics for schools it was one of the reasons I didn't put it first choice for my child. It was an ofsted outstanding and very fought over by parents out of catchment to get a place there.

Which is a good plan, but as we all know plans don’t always work out.

Think of the days when the traffic is awful and the bus journey takes twice as long as usual, the snowy and rainy days when you have to walk home for over half an hour, the days when you are needed in work early,the days when you realise you have forgotten the packed lunch, the pe kit, the homework, the violin, the days when your regular pick up wants to go out for the day or has flu, the days when the school phones and says your child has a fever, or has thrown up and you need to collect them……. Or if you decide you want to have another child and up doing the journey with a bump, sickness, a buggy……

then rinse and repeat for 7 years!

The really great thing about local round the corner schools is that you can build up a support network of reciprocating parents who can help out with emergencies.

just a thought.😊

I agree with others that if people are saying the school is fine that they're happy with it, parents seem to love to criticise schools so if they had issues then they'd be quick to tell you about them.

Our nearest primary is at the top of our road, a two minute walk, however I'd heard so many reports about bullying and how it was never dealt with so didn't even put that one on the application.

I visited a few others and put one that is a 7 minute drive away in the next village as first choice, at the time it was in special measures and had a new head teacher. I loved the feel of it, the children were all happy and the head was amazing so I put that one and dd got in.

She's now in year 6 and it's a fabulous school, I can't think of a single bad thing and both dd's are exceeding expectations academically. It's since been rated as good and was very close to outstanding and I'm so glad I didn't let the 'requires improvement' rating put me off.

It's never been an issue to drive there and back, we set out at 8.30 and by the time we've driven there, parked and walked to the gate it's 8.45 so only a few minutes out of my day and worth it.

If you are planning on bus... do a trial one morning this term. Theoretically the bus might be every 15 minutes and take 10... but reality maybe they are too full to get on, get stuck in traffic, run late etc. It will be best to check now.

for my first preference school we would have just missed out due to distance, but in previous years, we would have got in

If the Labour party gets in and sticks the axe into independent schools, there's no way you'll get in there, or at your second choice (unfortunately). Catchment areas and places at good state schools are going to be massively affected (if it actually happens, which I hope it won't).

It would improve the situation for those that HAVE to drive too.
If the kid from the village 1 with school doesn't choose it and drives to different school then a kid living near this other school can't get a place and needs to be driven to village 1 school. That's 2 cars on the road that didn't need to be.

Ime the only people that rave about a primary school are those whose children were accepted into a super over subscribed school to people that couldn't get in.

Choosing a school is like buying a house. You know it's right when you walk around.

There really are huge benefits to having school on your doorstep

We moved and went from being next door to school to one a 15 -20 min walk and its a real loss.

Having local friends goes beyond school. It means you are living in a community and your child is growing up knowing their neighbors

This will be helpful in many ways and is just nicer in terms of playdates etc

I agree primary schools v much all the sane !! If your child is bright (fairly unlikely your nursery mean anything by that other than he is developing normally!) He will flourish anywhere

Above all you would be mad to make this decision based on anythinf other than going in person and really gettjng a feel for it

You have admitted that the further school will probably end up being driven to so you will need to factor in parking etc. Also as others have stated above, if you have other children they may not get places at the more distant school. It sounds to me as though you need to visit a number of school and only discount the local school if it is really much worse than all the others. There is a LOT to be said for staying local when weather is bad or you are feeling a bit unwell but child needs to go to school. You are potentially risking making life a lot harder for yourself than you need to. I think you should fully consider your husband's point of view.

15 mins walk is still pretty good so I’d put that first if it’s your preference. Definitely do open days! You may be surprised. You might get a totally different feel.

Same. Our DC have all went to the local primary a two minute walk from the front door. Children from more affluent areas come to the school so it can't be that bad. Also think of their friendships in nearby streets. Handy for the summer holidays.

If you have a bright child he will be able to settle anywhere. I would actually argue getting secondary choice right first time is much more important.

Stay close and local..
Nobody realises how much time and effort the school run takes until they do it day after day, term after term, year after year.
Also you may have another baby who will have to be put in and out of the car seat eight times a day (can't be left in a parked car outside the school).

Jesus it’s only a primary school. It’s a bit of an assumption that he’s going to get “bored” when he hasn’t even started school and there will be plenty of other kids equally if not smarter than your kid there, which I am sure the teachers in a good school will be used to dealing with. I’d send him to the nearest school and be done with it. Certainly wouldn’t be arsed with the fuckery of driving past it for 15 mins to go somewhere else that’s unlikely to be much if any better.

Agreed. Unless it’s an absolute shithole school it will be fine. Mine are now near the end of secondary and the primary they went to has no relevance to anything now.

Plus schools and their leadership and perception about which is “best” can change a lot in the 7 years your kids are there.

Were I am we don't have catchments we do it by distance.

Even then due to where the schools are there is an overlap. So on one street you can see children who live within 10 houses of one another going to 3 different primary schools as two are next to each other in one direction and the other is the same distance in the other direction. Then we have the overflow school which unless your child has SEN they will get into if they can't get into any other school or end up having to move schools.

The school closest to me is an 8 minute walk and I put it last on my list due to being an infant school and not as good as others in the area but I had to put it on as it is our catchment school. I wanted my son in a primary school so put two primary schools that are both a 20 minute walk (25/30 with my 4 year old) as preference 1 and 2 and both of of it catchment area. We got our second preference. We don't mind walking and I don't have to worry about him having to move when he becomes a junior.

I didn't put our closest school as an option at all. I'd suggest do the open days and then the one you like the most start asking around for opinions.

The lukewarm parent feedback would concern me more than anything.

Fifteen minutes walk is fine, we're that far from our closest school. Personally, I'd be considering that over the further school.

I know I'll probably get flamed, but I'm quite surprised that his dad has no intention of getting involved in that decision, and I suspect that probably is a bigger factor in a child's future success than a choice of primary school or being thought of as bright (which I think has zero correlation with future success).

You've got to bare in mind that schools with higher exam results/Sat's scores attract parents who perhaps value education more and are more likely to pay for extra tuition. My eldest two went to a school like this, but I didn't find the school did much at all with my daughter with Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and Discalculia. It was me who paid for 4 years of private maths and dyslexia tutoring. Me who did toe by toe every evening, helped with the extra homework, extra reading. Plus my daughters hard work of course.

My youngest went to a "lower performing" school which I actually much preferred.

I'd look around all the schools and get a proper feel for them rather than just look at league tables.

Most schools are rated 'good ' these days as schools have worked out the expectations to get that. Few are outstanding and really the difference is minuscule and not easy to define. My kids' primary achieved outstanding and the head himself told me it was the luck of the draw on the day.

I work in a primary school and our head doesn't want us to be outstanding as it's a poisoned chalice in some ways. Good is good enough. But every school is different, so visits are a must.

I agree with many others that local is best. You have a minimum of 7 years in going to this school - and that includes for parents evenings, meetings and community events. Walking locally means you regularly see other families and get to know a lot of local people. Party venues are usually in the neighbourhood too - other parents can help facilitate pick ups and drops offs to those. If there are after school intetest clubs and you have a second child, going twice to pick up within the hour is no fun if it's a long walk (ours was only 10 minutes and I still just waited in the park or the library sometimes as they were closer than our house).

Wrap around care is helpful too if your working hours change. My Dh worked away from home on occasion and the school allowed last minute bookings of the breakfast club, which we didn't usually use, which meant I could drop them off and still get to work on time.

The ASC was until 6pm. My Dh worked from home so he usually collected them but, if he couldnt, I had time to drive home from work to collect them. In fact I'd say the ASC, which was well run and the kids loved, and much cheaper than a childminder, was a major plus for us (though it didn't exist when our first started there.)

I don't understand when a school is rather outstanding that they then don't have an inspection for years and years? One around here hasn't had one for over a decade, I expect tonnes of the staff has changed as well as other aspects they're marked on?