To preference a school 35 minutes away?

[Sallyh87]

Going through the process of filling out school selection forms. The best one is a 35 minute walk away and my DDs best friend from nursery is going to select this one. I can’t drive (disability) but DH can. DH can likely drive her 3 - 4 times a week due to WFH.

So my question

• is a 35 minute walk too much for a four year old
• would a closer but not as highly rated school be better
• Is there any kind of older child pushchair I could use???

Granted, I am sure there is a bus service but I find buses so unreliable.

You have to view both the schools before making your mind up. The best person to decide if the school suits your child is you! It's not about distance always, there are other factors to consider.

My eldest was in school nursery at the closest school and my youngest was showing signs of development delay. When I asked at current school about SEND provision I didn't like the answer at all (they said they had plenty worse than him, but I was interested in MY son, not other children) and I didn't get a good vibe at all. We had one close primary we never would have got in as we werent in catchment for it and our actual catchment school was a 25 minute walk away for me. They gave brilliant answers about SEN and I got a much better feeling. I applied for my eldest to go to the further away school for reception, even though he was well settled in the original school nursery. I knew I needed both at the same school and that the further school was the better option. I remained friends with parents from nursery and my gut feeling was right, my youngest would not have done well at the initial one at all. It was extremely academic and hothouse kids during SATS. At the school my children ended up in, my youngest got amazing support and they left it up to him on day to decide if he wanted to do SATS, they were more interested in him, not how he performed in tests which wouldn't give good results for the school. It was so worth the extra hassle (in my case I drove and parked 10 min walk away some days)

You have to go and see, not just decide on paper. All schools have a different atmosphere and ethos and sometimes it's worth the extra hassle.

It’s 4 times a day for you to walk there/back, twice for your child. Turning up tired, wet on rainy days, miserable, being tired at the end of the day, then having to do the walk. Then there’s picking up if they are ill, couldn’t walk them home then plus school shows, open days etc etc. it would be a nightmare. Unless your local school is rated poor and you like it and feel your child would do well there then local is best, you do need to go and see them tho as this is the only way to get a feel for them

35 mins walk is too much, but what about a scooter or bike? Or even a push along trike possibly? I think if you want to make it work you absolutely can, but as long as you’re realistic with yourself that there will be days where you have to admit defeat and get the bus or a taxi, such as when it really is raining too hard to spend an hour in (because you’ll have to walk back home presumably) or if she’s sick and needs to be picked up from school.

why don’t you do a trial run of the walk/scoot/whatever with her and that’ll give you a better idea of how she would cope with it.

Ours is 25-30 mins walk, it's fine. We walk 2 days a week. Kids (5&3) sometimes take scooters or bikes which speeds it up. It's good exercise, a nice walk (mainly off road) & lovely in the summer. Slightly less enjoyable in the depths of winter, but manageable.