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

Rated*

I agree. When I look back, I have fond memories of the school walk home.

In the summer, buying an ice-cream, calling at the park to play, in the autumn collecting conkers. New to an area my long term friends are these same parents.
My DC’s also loved the independence it gave them in being able to walk to and from.

We had to enroll DD in a further away school because of lack of wraparound provision in nearest ones. It helps it seems a little better based on now very out of date performance data

I don't either. A lot of recent OFSTED have downgraded many to good and some to requiring improvement.

This - last sentence.

primary school is not rocket science. they are rarely staffed by academic high hitters even at outstanding schools. Their jobs are to nurture and develop, protect and encourage, in accordance with a fairly pedestrian national curriculum. The main decider of a child’s outcome is home life/input. Send him round the corner with local friends and short commute. He’ll be able to get up later and sleep well. He’ll be able to play after school with buddies without needing lifts. Be an inquisitive household if you aren’t already - watch and talk about the news, current affairs, world issues, geography history yada yada. That’s way more important to intellectual curiosity than a primary school with a box ticked outstanding ofsted from 8 years ago.

It is lovely to be at a local school - we pass the door of my DD's best friend on the way to school, and another one's road and at least two more walk past our road. It's a really nice sense of community, especially for us since we're not from the area.

Have a look round them when you can and then decide which is a better fit. Parents have so many opinions, it’s best to form your own.
Also, I cannot overstate the value of being able to walk to school. It makes the day so much less stressful. We walk 15 mins every day and it’s really great, we can chat, decompress after a busy day, no stress over parking (which is usually horrendous around schools!)
Plus having a close community and very local friends is great for kids, and parents, for play dates etc.

I don’t want him to get bored at school if he is learning stuff he already knows

I wouldn't worry about this. All schools follow the same curriculum. What matters is his peers and their attitude to learning. A lot of this is just down to luck, especially in one form entry schools (as they don't have the luxury of mixing classes to even out ability levels). I would worry if a school was in a rough area and most parents didn't seem to care much about their children's education but that doesn't sound like it will be the case for you.

Also factor in that your child will live close by to lots of their friends if you choose the one nearby. This is a really big plus IMO.

I have a 10 minute drive to school and I absolutely hate it, but I have another child plus work so depends on your circumstances. It's not just 10 minutes. It's over an hour per day once you've done it 4 times (there and back twice) plus factor in all the faffing about. Also find out about parking. Not too bad at my son's current one but at his first school you had to get there 10 minutes early in order to get a parking spot that was a 10 minute walk away. Just awful.

Yanbu

If it's only a 25 minute walk can't you both just walk there and back ?

@Seashellies @Onelifeonly Ofsted set out timings of inspection. There has been a change to inspect outstanding schools, but for a long time they were exempt.

Summer update.
https://educationinspection.blog.gov.uk/2023/06/12/when-will-my-school-be-inspected/

Ah thanks, knew the school wouldn't have been able to do anything to get around the inspections so figured some sort of exemption, seems better as so much can change in a decade! The school we chose for DS was 'good' but scored super well on the things we as parents were most interested in, I'd encourage people to read them if they're bothered at all by Ofsted ratings rather than just going by the overall grade.