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Original poster

Tiny school or big school? Advice needed!!!!!

17 replies

Noodlesdd · 27/02/2011 09:04

Hi all! New to this site so first tread....be nice!
Thinking of moving to a small holding in Wales for better quality of life but now I have found out the school only has 12 children I am not so sure!!
dd started school this year and she is in a big but very good infant school and loves it - 2 classes of 30 in reception - lots of friends for a very confident girl!
My son will start this September but has some special needs - he was born at 27 weeks and has cerebral palsy which thankfully responded very well to intensive therapy from 4 months and now he is just like any other rough and tumble boy! He is displaying some sort of other issue which docs are still observing - may be autism spectrum, dyspraxia or one of the ADHD type conditions but docs not sure yet. He will be going mainstream as he does well at preschool with a little understanding and kindness.
My question is - does anyone have experience good or bad of a very small school either from their own childhood or do their children go to one?

There is a bigger one (175) 4 miles away which may be a better half way idea!

Thanks all

OP posts:
everlong · 27/02/2011 10:48

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bronze · 27/02/2011 10:52

Whereas I would go for the small school.
My children previously were at a small school (though not as small as that) and the community feel and attention they got was wonderful. we have since moved and are at a bigger school and it's all going horribly wrong.
Just think a teacher and a ta between 30ish or a teacher and at least one ta between 12.

Being at the local school would also help integration with the local area.

But thats just our experiences speaking

everlong · 27/02/2011 11:01

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senua · 27/02/2011 11:28

DD was in a very small class at one stage. It is lovely that have the individual attention from teachers but, if there are any problems with other pupils, then there is nowhere to hide.
What is the boy/girl split?
I presume that running a smallholding will be very timeconsuming. Will you have time to be a taxi for school runs and playdates? How will your community feel if you send your DC to the next door school - it could be that your DC were the tipping point between it staying open or being closed down.Shock

senua · 27/02/2011 11:30

What are the implications for secondary school?

LoisSanger · 27/02/2011 11:35

12 is extremely small.

175 sounds a good size to me.

CecilyP · 27/02/2011 11:36

Twelve pupils sounds a bit too small. There might be a limited number of pupils the same age. Eg, your DD might be the only child in her year. Also, with another school 4 miles away, with cuts coming, the tiny school may not be considered viable for much longer. I would find out a bit more about the schools and whether other children in the village travel to the larger school. Would the children who attend the village school live near you or would you still have to drive to take your children to visit them.

bronze · 27/02/2011 11:47

Can I just add I'm highly jealous Grin

Original poster
Noodlesdd · 27/02/2011 12:33

Thanks!
We are going to live off hubby's wage as it's good (took a while and hard work to get to this point so we can live off one wage!) and the property is in his region, so a good location for him.
I would be pottering about growing veg and raising a bit of good quality meat for freezer! The whole idea is to focus on school runs and a good healthy life for hubby and kids - my new job so to speak which fits around doing the best for family time.
It's 12 in whole school! And they will be taught welsh which is fine but mine may be the only non welsh there. I worry about the issue of the school maybe needing new children to stay open and the attitude of locals towards 'outsiders' if we don't send them there! Like the romantic idea but maybe it's just too small. Hey maybe they would pay us to send them there or we would become local heroes for bringing new children to village! Whole leg of lamb every Sunday kind of thanks......yum

Bronze - mind if I ask what the issues are? My dd loves school but I am already noticing the clicks created by certain mums and wonder if this the same in small schools. Just want the children to be themselves and not get sucked into this competitive consumeristic world so young!

OP posts:
bronze · 27/02/2011 12:38

The problems with the bigger school may actually stem from having come from a smaller school where they had a fantastic relationship with the teacher and were someone to a bigger one where they are just another child which in ds1s case is hard (being assessed for asd...) and rather than try and deal with problems they just make out that it is his fault and he (and we) should sort it
but You won't be going from smaller to bigger if you sent them to the bigger school so it wouldnt be relevant

bronze · 27/02/2011 12:39

I would definitely go and visit the schools before deciding

MigratingCoconuts · 27/02/2011 12:43

My experiences are of secondary schools (as a teacher) but here goes:

  1. How the school feels and how it responds to your son's SEN needs is really important, not size.
  1. A small school means fewer friends to choose from, which could mean your DC find it harder form good friendships. It all depends on the 12.
  1. A small school means mixed year groups? Not always a bad thing, but a point. Also could mean risk of closure.
  1. A small school feels more like a family and everyone knows everyone else.
  1. Bigger schools have better infrastructure as there are more staff around. This may mean better SEN provsion?
  1. At secondary, it means more option choices as there are more teacher specialims around

Good luck Smile

CecilyP · 27/02/2011 13:48

Another thing to think about is having the same teacher for 7 years. I might be worth sounding out local mums to get a feeling about this.

You will also find that other families in the area will have made different choices so I doubt if people will judge you whatever you do. When I lived in a village with a similar sized school, some families used the village school, some used a slightly larger school about 3 miles away. Many working mothers took their children to a larger town school on the way to work. And catholic family sent their children to the catholic school in the town.

veritythebrave · 27/02/2011 14:09

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hocuspontas · 27/02/2011 14:18

Gut feeling - go for the bigger one. More scope for your dd especially as she is used to it. Although you obviously don't want to fall out with the villagers so bit of a tough one. With regards to your ds, the bigger school has potentially more staff experienced in sen, more resources and the budget to train staff if necessary.

exoticfruits · 27/02/2011 14:39

I would go for bigger for the reasons already explained. The main one is more scope for friendships.

Original poster
Noodlesdd · 27/02/2011 15:30

Thanks you have all helped with your answers! I do think the bigger one will be best although I wanted to be able to walk to school - but we will be getting plenty of fresh air at home so can cope with a drive to school.
Dd will be happier as very social - already has 4 'boyfriends' and there may not be enough boys out of 12 pupils for her!!!!

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