Is the commute justifiable?

[ByGoldHare]

Hi everyone, it’s my first time posting and would love to hear your thoughts this.
I have twin girls who will start nursery school this September. We got accepted into our catchment school (2 min drive or 15 mins walk with my kids) and also a slightly further out rural village school (12 min drive + potentially parking on the street and then walk 7-8 mins).
The local school is a “good” school and has a 3 form entry. I did like it when I first visited but felt the staff were too busy to give individualised attention to all the kids.
Then we found this village school which has only one form entry and absolutely loved it when we visited. It’s much smaller and has a close community feel. But it is quite a hassle to get there, park and walk. I know it’s not a big deal but it’s also graded “outstanding” by ofsted.
I guess my question is, should I go with my gut that the smaller school is better for my kids? Or should I take the easy way and send them to the local school? It is a big commitment to drive them there back and forth, but thankfully I’m in a position to be a full time mum as my husband’s job can support the family comfortably.
On top of that, I just found out I’m pregnant with number 3, which we are thrilled about but it will make school drop off logically much harder.
Please I would love to hear fr

Small schools are nice when the kids are very young but not good after the age of 8.
There are not enough to play sport. Friendships can be difficult as probl ma are amplified . In a small pool it can be difficult to find your tribe .
I would go for the bigger one .

Going to a small primary can be a problem when they then move to a large high school.
Id make your life easier all round and go to the closest school.

Let them make friends where you love by going to the nearest school

Your twins will want to be individuals as they get older. A 3 form entry means they'll get space and allowed to become their own person. They won't have that in a small village school.

And it's easier for small village schools to get an outstanding grade than 3 form entries in larger suburbs.

I’d go for the closer school. Trying to manage getting them to school and with a baby too when you have to do a walk the other end (potentially in the pouring rain) doesn’t sound fun!
you could always do a dummy run - one morning do that school run to the further school and see how it feels.
oh, and I wouldn’t base a judgment on the Ofsted report. We took my son’s “outstanding” school to a tribunal and won and they were fined. It’s not worth the paper it’s written on.

We had a very similar choice (albeit both schools were rated good and the drive was marginally shorter). We went for the small school and we haven't regretted it for a moment. We had a 12 ish minute drive to her nursery as I wasn't keen on more local ones so we knew we didn't mind that sort of commute. We always have nice chatting time in the car.

Turned out a few families made a similar choice so she so has a school friend on our street and even for those living closer to the school, it's hardly far to take them for parties and playdate. If you were talking a half hour drive away from the school then I'd maybe be more worried about local friendships but not that distance.

We did check the area around the smaller school was catchment for our local, excellent, walkable secondary as I didn't want to get to the end of Primary and her lose all her friends to a different school, or tie ourselves into driving a teenager to school!

If this is only nursery school would you get a place in the reception class when you officially apply for a school place if you are so far away? If not, I wouldn't unsettle them by moving them again in the future

I have done both and I would advise the nearest school with three kids. Much nicer to have friends near, easier for you, more kids to develop friendships and social skills and easier transition to high school. You will be doing the school run for another decade and 10 /15 mins versus 1:30 per day is a no brainer. Plus schools change, the head of the village school could move, be replaced or the next Osted reveal new issues.

Single form entry can be really tough going when they get a bit older, they are all sick of each other and stuck together with no other options. Friendship issues can get really intense.

Logistics are also very important, in your circumstances I would go for the nearer school every time.

Honestly the three form entry sounds perfect. They will have the option to be in separate classes, make their own friends and not be constantly considered as one entity 'the twins'.

A small school always looks nurturing when they are tiny but every school I've worked in like this has become a very suffocating place as the children grow and cannot escape their cohort.

Nearest. Both for convenience and because I prefer the three form entry . More children to mix with and if they have any problems. Mixing or with another child they can be moved to another class.

My three go to / went to a tiny school for infant years (reception to yr 2). There were only 7-10 kids in their class and sometimes year groups were merged.

How small are the class sizes at the village primary?

I found it overall a very positive experience for them, but welcomed the bigger class sizes when they moved to junior school at yr 3. The tiny infant school experience allowed them to have a LOT of learning support and tailored learning, it meant the early years weren’t an overwhelming experience (honestly felt a bit like home schooling with lots of friends), and they all had very close relationships with their teachers which was lovely. They got a lot of individual attention.

They did PE each week with an external provider who came in, swimming each week, forest school, and the school was able to offer sports after school clubs on Mon-Thurs (paid for).

The two who have moved so far had no issues dealing with the transition to a much bigger junior school (3 form entry, 30 kids per form).

friendships-wise, my daughter and younger son lucked out and had a fab group of 4-5 friends in thier classes. My eldest son didn’t click in the same was with many other kids in his class and found his tribe at the bigger junior school.

Also easier to socialise bump into classmates locally at the park etc

As a parent, I have much closer relationships with the families from the smaller school. You have to all get on with each other. I barely speak to anyone at the big Junior school when I do pick ups (not from lack of trying). Everyone is much busier, more autonomous, and play dates don’t seem to happen in the same way as they do with families from the smaller school.

How small is small? Single form of 30 or single form of 15?

I moved mine from a two form entry with 30 per class to a one form entry with c20 per class (now closer to 23/24) and haven’t regretted it for a moment. The smaller class size is what made the difference.

I’d go for nearest. The small school won’t be able to offer much in terms of after school clubs, football teams etc.

I would choose the closer school. Much easier if you can walk, friends will also be local. One form entry schools are lovely for ks1 but not great for ks2.

I don't think that's a school thing to be fair. It's more likely the fact they are older. It's quite common for parents in KS2 to not chat as much or hang around for a natter in the playground and for playdates to be just with their children's friends rather than anyone in the class.

From someone who has been doing the school run for 27yrs (finally ends in June) go to your local school.

The advice used to be that twins are better in separate classes. It enables them to be seen as individuals and make their own friendships. It also avoids one twin dominating the other socially. I’d go for the school where separate classes for your twin girls is possible.

With 1 child I’d do the smaller one but with twins I’d choose the closer one. My twins loved being in the same class until around p 3, they were then able to go into different classes. That really was a game changer for them. With 3 children you’ll be all over the place with clubs soon, you’ll be glad if one less drive

No that kind of commute isn’t worth it - any perceived benefits of the smaller school at infant level tend to flip at junior (and bigger here makes high school much easier)

with twins as well the ability to split them if you want is priceless and there is also no guarantee sibling rules etc would be there

I'd defo go for the nearest one. You like it, it's local, you have twins and another on the way.
Make life as easy as possible. With greater numbers, greater scope for the kids to find friends and for you to build a community

Nearest one. It’s the ad hoc after school park moments, the sports opportunities, the range of friends and yes believe me walking to school is so much better.

I did very local primary and then DD16 needed a small private girls school for her SEN for secondary so I spent 6 years on a daily round trip commute of 22 miles. Don’t do it unless you really really need to. I have no regrets as it gave her what she needed. But was so relieved when she went to sixth form college on a bus!

The school places/population crisis is working its way through the system and pretty much all primaries are now affected.

A school that can't meet its PAN will have less money and fewer resources available to the children, and particularly for small schools the risk of closure over the next decade will be quite high.

I also agree that small schools can be very challenging for friendships as well as things like sport - you can end up with very unbalanced classes in terms of gender and often there is no option to "just go and play with someone else" if things aren't going well with one group of kids. And if your kids aren't local they're more likely to be on the edge of existing friendship groups.

Two form entry is my sweet spot but I'd go with a larger school that can achieve economies of scale and has better long term stability than a tiny one that is less likely to be able to afford the "extras" and is likely to be at greater risk of closure.

I'd also take the Ofsted with a pinch of salt - it's an imperfect measure and a lot of schools are still coasting on the basis of "oustandings" from years ago.