To think of moving daughter school part way through the year

[Seaglass87]

I am in two minds and I don't really know what to do.
So when we applied for infant school we got our second choice, not first and went on the waiting list. I have now received an email offering her a place at our top choice.

My DD is in reception and the school she is at is good and I haven't had any problems yet. At parents evening the teacher said how well she was doing, how settled she was and how she's made some lovely friendships. DD seems really settled. She happily goes into school each morning and says she enjoys school. The teacher's are lovely.

However the school she has now been offered a placement at is outstanding
and I have a few friends whose children go there and they rave about the school.

I don't know what to do. I've tried to write a pros and cons list but it all seems so theoretical. Would it be unreasonable to move my DD when she is happy and settled because of the reputation of a school?

I've worked in schools and I've worked for ofsted. A lot of my close friends are ofsted inspectors.
We don't send our kids to the outstanding schools 🤐

Same! If you know, you know.

Looking for schools for next year but I totally get your list especially about the surrounding area. It does matter as it is the catchment area and there are only few things you can control as she grows older. I would prefer my child to choose friends from a nice area (without sounding snob, please read between the lines) especially if I have to deal with my child’s friends’ parents

Nice area doesn't equal nice kids

There’s no way to say that without sounding like a snob.

and the assumption that nice area = nice kids = nice parents is amusingly naive

Stay where you are. Schools in "nicer" areas usually breed very snobby entitled children. If both schools feed to the same high school then at this stage then I don't see any point.
My kids went to the best school in a expensive area, we don't live in that area and they certainly made sure we knew that we didn't fit. If the parents at your school are nice then definitely don't give that up.
All high school kids turn out the same no matter what school they went to.

Our primary school is outstanding and people Iin the village rave about it.

It is actually a shockingly poor school with poor academic achievement but in a nice village where bright and invested parents do a lot of work at home or pay for tutors. I feel so sad my ds is at this primary school. I made the decision not to move him as he would have struggled emotionally and we have had a lot of stuff going on at home plus covid in the last 3 yrs.

If your DD is happy & settled I'd not move her

@YetMoreNewBeginnings @Hankunamatata
I think it is naive thinking that in a bad area a child will be lucky enough to choose to be friends with the nice kids instead of getting in a gang for example. All I’m saying is, I would try to have the chances by my side.

Ofsted judge a single day, maybe two.
That particular single day would have been watching teachers who no longer even work there!

I work in early years and when looking for somewhere to send my own son I cried when I left an "outstanding" setting, at the thought of having to leave him there. They ticked a lot of boxes very nicely, but seemed totally uninterested in the children as individual people. I also worked somewhere "good" years ago that, with hindsight, I can assure you was poor.

There's not as much difference between good and outstanding as the terms suggest anyway, particularly as far as the experience for the individual child goes.
I wouldn't move. I'm looking for a new job myself at the moment and not having to move my son is my main requirement!

Entirely depends on what you call a bad area. I live in a less desirable area, poor income, social housing, unemployment but the parents care. They know where their kids are, there's community responsibility.
My friend lives in a 'nice' area - kids left to run the streets, older ones have money to buy drugs in their nice secondary school. She's found parents to be competitive and happily encourage their kids to ignore or islote kids if they don't fit

I’ve worked in schools and while you have similar length lists certain things I would immediately cross off/ flag making the list more obvious. An ofsted outstanding from 2012 is meaningless, a new head less than a year I would be wary of- you have no way of knowing how that will pan out. The smaller class size will immediately mean more individual attention 22-30 makes a huge difference. The wrap around situation makes stress levels and therefore general life better at current school. I’m not sure why you mean by ‘like other girls’ but considering you are both happy and like teacher etc and friends I wouldn’t move.

You have stated all the reasons for leaving her where she is. Moving to 'outstanding' whstever that means in child terms is no guarantee of continued happiness and ' settledness' leave her be.

Can you check out the recent progress 8 scores? That might swing it for me.

For YOUR preferred High School???

In this situation I would definitely NOT move her. Your school is good! and she has settled through the huge transition of starting school

An ofsted report of 'outstanding' really is just bollocks. Apart from the fact that many things Ofsted value are things you may not (have you truly understood Ofsted priorities ???? They often focus on things that are nothing to do with wellbeing, child led learning etc) - and schools cycle in and out of ofsted favour.

I have had my children at 'outstanding' primary that went to good (never saw any difference over that time) - then in two different 'good ' primaries - nothing that ofsted care about is what I care about

If the school is fine/ good/ she is happy - leave her be.

I moved my own children midway through primary so it's not that I think it's something never to do - but the reasons you are giving are not good reasons.

Primary schools all are much of a muchness as far as I can see ( I have seen a lot through our move - ) I really don't think you will benefit from moving and she certainly won't.

just realised the ofsted (which would absolutely not be how I would decide) is from 2012. that is madness. My 11 year old son was born in 2012 - that's an entire generation of primary school children ago!

Don't fix what isn't broken. Move your energy onto making new friends there with her and helping her yourself with her learning if it is really important to you.

2012 is worthless.

We visited two outstanding schools and two good schools and went with one of the 'good' schools.
He absolutely loves it and has got a lot of support.
I can't imagine pulling him out tbh

I want to know 😂

Bollocks. I live in a bad area and my teenage lad has been very sensible.

Thanks everyone. You've been really helpful and I'm now 99% sure I will keep her where she is. I've asked to go and look around the other school just in case so I know I've made a fully informed decision, but it's just belt and braces really.
Ofsted be damned!!

@Everydayimhuffling @SaracensMavericks @WillowCraft For those asking- when I say she's not like the other girls the other girls seem to be very girly and confident and she's quite Tom boyish and reserved. It is true I haven't met every child there though (know most though from parties as she was at the preschool last year).

An Ofsted that old is completely meaningless. I would stay where you are.

She will be fine I'm sure. Keep her where she is while she is happy but there will probably be the option to change in the future. My kids went to the worst school and the best school. The mums were way more friendly at the perceived worst one and the kids at gcse all came out at the level they worked hard for. Ignore ofsted- it's nonsense.

I would only consider it personally if the school she's at now is a ballache to get to. Otherwise, an 11 year old Ofsted is meaningless. Esp with a new head.

My golden rule is never move once you start secondary school.
Remember you may not want to separate her from friends but you have no guarantee they'll never move.

Ofsted is a small part of the bigger picture.

Some things to bear in mind with an Ofsted label:

• the rating may have been given quite some time ago, as 'outstanding' schools are inspected less frequently.
• the Ofsted rating may have been given to a different team of staff and leadership
• performance pressure can be higher in 'outstanding' schools.
• it's a day in the life and not necessarily representative
• you have to read the whole report, not just the headline
• there are good and outstanding teachers in every school

I'd rather look at things like the percentage of trainee and newly qualified teachers, whether a school is mixed-form entry, the relationship the staff have, how they manage behaviour. You could consider performance data, but be aware that in smaller schools, one child makes up a much greater percentage of results, so these can be skewed.

Honestly though, if your child is happy, healthy and safe, that's a huge bonus. In Early Years, that personal, social and emotional development underpins the entire curriculum, so you want her to be secure emotionally and relationally above all else.