AIBU to send my DC to the closest preschool - if I haven’t even viewed any others?

[IamnotwhouthinkIam]

Hoping to get some others experience/ opinions- even though it’s possible our school situation is a little unusual.

We live rurally and have a primary school with a preschool literally opposite our house. The other closest schools are all about 15 mins drive away (so really closer to 30 mins allowing for peak school traffic and parking). All the schools are rated at least “good” (but all old reports) and none are over subscribed so in theory DC could go to any of them.

I went to the local school open day and liked the nursery/reception teacher (small school so mixed age class), liked the facilities, although was a bit so-so on the headteacher. I work part time from home so the local school would definitely be easiest- I could get there almost instantly if DC needed me and less likely to be late in the mornings etc . DC is almost 3 but never been away from me before.

But how much can you really tell from an open day? I’m worried I could go to others but just get more confused about where is best to send DC as the further away schools are very different - 1 is huge (600 pupils vs 100 local -but is the only one rated outstanding), 1 is Welsh speaking (we don’t speak it at all but bi- lingualism is supposed to be good for kids?) and the third gets some of the best academic results in the area (according to the old Estyn report).

What would you do?

Perfectly reasonable as long as you have visited and like it. We did the same and it worked out fine. You can always change at a later date if things change.

15 minutes 4 x a day adds up to 5 hours a week not including any other trips to bring forgotten items etc.

It sounds super unlikely another pre school could be wonderful enough to overwhelm the obvious benefit to your child of them having a really easy commute in the morning and a more relaxed, available parent. I live in London and have only considered pre-schools within a ten minute walk of our home for the same reason.

Sounds great. To be fair, we only looked at 2 when we chose a nursery for our eldest (a local ish one and the big commercial one in town - it was awful!). Dc2 also went there, didn’t consider any other options. When we moved house, dc2 changed nursery and we only ever looked at the closest one.

I presume if the school is opposite your house and the others are 15 minutes away (an hour a day of driving!), this is the school you will choose, so makes sense that you’d opt for that preschool.

I wouldn't consider any that weren't in walking or safe cycling distance unless the nearer ones were really terrible. Doing school runs by car is incredibly tedious all that wrestling of reluctant kids into the car, the parking is always awful around schools, it makes a lot of stress even without the waste of time , unnecessary pollution, short trips that are bad for the car, expense of fuel.

If you live opposite your child can probably walk there alone from age 9 upwards which gives them independence

The only reason I can see to look at any other preschool is if you think you might want him to go to a Welsh-medium school later on. If you do, it would be a massive advantage for him to have lots of exposure to Welsh as early as possible. So maybe have a look at how the local Welsh-medium and English-medium provision compare in general, including primary and secondary, if you think you’re likely to stay living in the same area. If Welsh-medium looks a lot preferable, then definitely get him started now.

If you visited it and liked it, it makes complete sense to pick that school over one that you'd have a long drive to every day. Plus, we are constantly invited to events at the school, and they are not always at drop off time. So if you are able to just pop across to get to sports day and things it will be great.

We sent ours to a Welsh primary despite it not being the closest and not being Welsh speakers. My son is thriving and I'm proud that he can speak Welsh and I feel that it will open doors for him in the future. I know it seems like a long way away but have you checked out the secondary schools in the area?

@Joopy That’s interesting, how do you manage with things like helping with homework, or even more minor things like not being able to understand school performances etc? I’ve heard that Welsh Language education can help kids with learning other languages too in the way it stimulates the brain, but have also read mixed things on whether some kids can then struggle more in other subjects (because their parents can only speak English), so I worry.

I live near the border, so everyone speaks in English - you have to search out chances to speak Welsh here. There is only one Welsh secondary school in the county (which has gotten mixed Estyn reports over the years), where as generally the English language secondary that the other 3 primaries feed into (including the local school) gets better reports- although there is a choice of multiple English language secondary’s in theory.

Trouble is so much can change in 8 years - so by the time my DC goes to secondary it could all be completely different!

I only visited one nursery and (then, when the time came) one primary school. I based my decision mostly on other factors - distance, Ofsted report, opinions of families I knew. The visit was secondary for me, I was visiting as a final check to see if there was anything I saw that would put me off.

Now is the best time to give your child the gift of bilingualism, and the perfect reason for you to learn Welsh too. The school will be well used to having parents who aren’t (yet!) Welsh speakers. No, you won’t understand all of the Christmas play but you will love watching your child regardless. I was worried how my (non verbal until 2) child would cope in a Welsh medium school but there’s no alternative where we live - all primaries in the county are Welsh medium - but she is thriving and soon completely overtook me (I’m a competent learner). Learning the language has opened many doors for me career-wise and enriched my life in a Welsh speaking community.

Hi @IamnotwhouthinkIam Homework is fine as they know many of the parents are not Welsh speakers so instructions are in English and Welsh. School shows are in Welsh and I don't always know what's going on but I can appreciate the singing and acting. The local Welsh-medium secondary schools are better than the English-medium ones so I feel I making the right decision for my son but it depends on the schools in your area.

At the moment I'm planning on sending mine to a Catholic nursery in a school because I liked it. We aren't Catholic or religious at all and I don't agree with a lot of what they believe but it's a really nice school!

I did this and will probably do this for the local school attached to be honest. Both have a great reputation, we can walk and have friends houses we can easily walk to. I grew up in the middle of nowhere and we had to drive everywhere so this is a novelty to me!

I don't think you can overestimate having to not bundle your kid through traffic everyday and also being part of the local community around you.

Thanks all for your help I’ve decided not to view the further away schools and send him to the local preschool.

I thought about all your comments but ultimately I think not having to drive for an 45 mins to an hour each day and being more likely to make friends locally will be more beneficial for DC than the possibility of an “outstanding” rather than just “good” school or being immersed in Welsh (he will still learn some at the local one).

If he doesn’t settle well then obviously I will look at the other schools for when he officially starts school at 4/5.

Thanks again for the help 😁

I always went with the closest option when my DD was at nursery and primary, I could walk there in under 5 minutes. It was a god send when the weather was rubbish and it meant we had longer at home on a morning and we’re home asap at the end of the day.