AIBU to think changing schools may be the right thing to do?

[BiscuitsForever]

Hello, I'm in a bit of a conundrum and would love to hear some views from others.

My dd is 6 and is in Year 1, she likes school, she has lots of friends and is very settled. It used to be so lovely and friendly, however, I have some concerns about her school.

Firstly and most recently, her school sent us a letter on Thursday explaining that there is no money so Years 2 3 and 4 are to be combined. I worry about this as dd is the youngest in the class and will find this overwhelming. I also think combining ks1 and ks2 seems odd.

The school is in a group with 2 others and finances are shared, one other school in the group is the priority for money and resources at the moment due to the impending Ofsted they are due.

I know Ofsted isn't everything, but they've just gone from good to RI.

Dd's head has no idea who she is, she has never met her in 2 years. She never comes to sports days or plays. It is a small school and this just seems to indicate a lack of interest.

They have recently let go of the senco and are not replacing them, therefore there is currently no support in place. Apparently they are training a TA up to help them.

I just feel that none of the decisions being made are in the interests of the children. I understand that budgets are extremely tight, but I just think they are ruining what was a lovely, friendly school.

What do you think? I think it might be best if she moves, but will it be too much for her?

Definitely look into moving - a combined Y2,3,4 class sounds a bizarre idea to me, that's a huge difference in teaching and maturity for a primary school.

TAs can’t be SENCO. You have to be a qualified teacher, there will be someone filling the position even if in just an acting capacity.
I have heard of lots of rural schools (I teach in one) making teachers redundant and merging classes due to falling pupil numbers and lack of funding.

I agree it's bizarre. Look for another School. Hope you find a good one.

I can see three good reasons to move in your post.
DD will make new friends easily at that age.

She's young enough to adapt well and have a long time at another school.
My kids both attended small village school with mixed age classes, done well it's a good thing, I'm a big fan and I have one child who is oldest in her year and one who is youngest... But mixing key stages is a step too far imo, I don't think that can be done well... So it seems to be a decision if necessity but without the balance of the necessary strategy to make it work.

I'd move her if I could in your shoes.

“All mainstream schools (including academies and free schools) must have a SENCO. The SENCOmust be a qualified teacher, or the headteacher, working at the school.”

that’s direct from the gov.uk website. I would definitely be looking at other schools

I would deffo change schools.

We moved our DD before she started juniors - best thing we did

GL xx

Absolutely grim. My child's primary teacher stands every & I mean every morning in the playground to great children and families. We have fabulous teachers and one of the best PTA's in the county. It's truly a community, every child matters. This is not meant to sound gloaty, but, perhaps give you some hope. Combining three year groups is intolerable.

Yes, I imagine they may 'share' one across the federation. Though whether or not dd's school will ever see them remains to be seen.

I’m not sure that’s allowed.
I’ve never worked anywhere that hasn’t had its own SENCO. It is sometimes someone doing a dual role so Assistant Head or Deputy Head and SENCO.

Sounds like it's a small school. You know you can access the 3 year budget plan by asking for copies of their governing board minutes and associated papers? In a small school the SENCO can be part-time and definitely in a multi academy trust or even a maintained school with a collaborative agreement they can be shared.

Yes it is small, about 100 students I believe. I just find it so sad, it was so nurturing and lovely and they are ruining it.

I suspect this is part of an academy trust?
Sharing a senco is probably allowed in these circumstances as is sharing a head teacher.
100 on roll is not particularly tiny. And shouldn’t warrant the need for mixed classes of that many year groups.
How many in the class? If there aren’t enough kids to make more than one class out of years 2,3&4 where are all the rest of the 100 children?
We have similar numbers and are running classes that are practically full - yrs 1/2 3/4 5/6

A large composite class wouldn’t bother me in a school where the staff were used to it, but putting three year groups together in a 100 pupil school seems extreme to me.

I wonder if they’re hoping the roll will drop even further and eventually they’ll be allowed to close that school if they have spaces in their other ones locally

It is allowed and is common in small, federated schools. Some very small schools don't even have a Deputy Head, just a senior teacher on a TLR.

It's not a MAT, but is federated with two others. There are roughly 14 per year group, some more some less.

Very interesting, I teach in a small rural school, we work closely with the schools in the neighbouring villages, sharing planning etc. We aren’t officially a federation though. We all have our own SENCO, even though we have less than 10 EHCPS across the 6 schools.

If there is no money to fund teachers what do you expect them to do? I'm not being snarky it's an honest question.
Education has been underfunded for years and the results of policy for the years during and since Gove are coming back to bite us all. Schools have been good, too good, at putting a brave face on for the world and managing massive issues and challenges but we can't pull a rabbit out of a hat...

This is financially unsustainable.

Many years ago I went to a small primary school. I think there were about 50 people in total. Each class had a desk. I was really happy. I was really upset when my parents pulled me out at the end of year 5 because they thought the teaching wasn't good enough.
You don't know if the next school will be better. I remember reading on mn that you should never pull a happy child out of a school he/he is happy at. I agree with that message.

So what's the class size going to be? That would be my first question.

This sounds like a sinking ship I’m afraid. Look at overall pupil numbers over the last few years and see if you can see a pattern of decline. If so, I suspect a lot of families will be trying to leave for other schools and you don’t want to be the last.

No it’s not.
That is the model our school is set up under - 15 per year group with combined year groups. 3 classes of 30 and 15 in reception.
We are full and doing just fine. Budget is tight but no worse than any other school I’m aware of.

@Smartiepants79 the school where I'm Chair of Governors has exactly the same arrangement.

We are opening a nursery in September to ensure continuity of numbers in the school, and provide a little extra income.

But, like you, we are financially stable.

Sustainable with mixed age classes, not with single year group classes with 14 children in.