why did you choose private school at reception?

[mumat39]

Hello

there are so many comments on Mumsnet about the fact that Private school from reception age is unnecessary so I was wondering why those parents that chose the private route did so?

We have a few good state primaries locally but all go to Y2 only. there seem to be fewer junior schools and even fewer secondary.

There is a good private school nearby that goes from reception through to a level, so for a number of reasons that is the one I'm leaning towards. But as there are so many views that inthe early years its not money well spent, i'm windering why this one is still popular and what ultimately are the reasons for parents to choose private over state.

I am genuinely confused so any views would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

Because I wasn't viewing it in terms of the ultimate result so much as where did I think she would be happy and where was very easy to get too.
Other things included the number of activities done in school time, the fact that I wanted single sex and close proximity to our home.

I visited the local schools available and the one we and she liked best was a private school. If state had offered more or as many of the things I wanted I would have chosen that. But I was lucky that I didn't have to factor in cost.

Class size was the main thing for us.

My eldest is august born and I felt he'd be lost in a class of 30+ so chose the school with smaller class sizes.

And proximity to our house and extra curricular activities offered was also important.

For us, the decision was made easy by the fact that ds's school include 8-6 care in the fees with a huge range of after school clubs, plus holiday clubs (extra) every school holiday. As working parents and no family help, we wanted consistency for ds without depriving him of the chance to do sports, music etc.
I very much like that the school he is at provides a huge amount of outdoor opportunities - the head had much more freedom to decide the ethos of the school, and the teachers seem to be able to choose to provide more

Ultimately? Logistics and choices.

I can't keep my job if DS isn't at a school near my work as otherwise I'd be dropping him off at 7am, driving an hour, doing a full day (can't go P/T due to various complex reasons) then driving back for 5.30pm. No breakfast club starts that early. Neither do local CMs. DH leaves at the same time as me and gets back at 6.30pm so he can't help at all.

Going to a private school near work means I can drop DS at breakfast Club just before 8, get to work on time and pick up after only a bit of teatime club.

Work is miles from home in another County. Can't get in a state school that far away - it's bad enough getting in one a mile away! Don't want to lose job as I'd never get another in my stupidly specialist field, least not at senior level, and then probably not in this country or possibly even continent.

The (hopefully!) good education is a bonus.

So, choices.

Positive start to school, no faffing around with lots of settling in days in reception, and a settled friendship group from the start. Plus not having to sit exams at 7 in order to get in!

But it is down to your choices:- the ability to pay usually opens up more options than just the local state schools which will select you on the basis on where you live or whether you have a sibling to adhere to a particular faith. So you can choose whether wrap around care matters, or a wider curriculum, or a location that is convenient for your work etc. When you pay, you're not necessarily going to get a "better" school in some absolute sense, but you should get one which suits you better.

If I had free choice of any state school in my area, then i'd be delighted - there are some great ones. But in reality i don't - I'll get the one based on where I live or how fervently I worship.

We moved area when DD had one term of nursery left, well after LEA allocations would have been made and initially had to rent whilst our house sale went through. We were looking for some sort of continuity and needed wraparound care as we both work f/t. The amount of extra-curricular activities available at school (at that point for DD it was ballet and swimming) so we didn't have to try and fit them in at the weekend. The school was also a good fit for DD at the time and the quality of the wraparound care was excellent. We did visit the local primary reception class near the house we eventually bought just to be sure and felt DD was better staying where she was.

The short answer is that DH teaches at DS's school so we get a staff discount !!

The longer answer is that DS is August born, is fairly quiet and well behaved most of the time. At preschool we kept being 'missed' by the staff because he wasn't loud or naughty. We felt that in a class of 30 he would continue to be missed. Being in a class of 18 at an independent for reception has made such a different for him.

Hmm, I think that's an interesting question.

My mum and granny always said that if you can afford it, then it's absolutely worth investing in the early stages of your child's education rather than the later years. They both felt that early childhood education was where the groundwork was laid, so if you had the money available to ensure a good early education, then it was absolutely worth investing.

So I think that definitely had an impact on me - along with the logistical and linguistic reasons (we live in Belgium) that led us to choose a private school for our DD.

We live in central London and aren't religious so our state choices were dire no other reason really. There are obviously benefits to a private eduacation that would be hard to live without now 6 years on and it has been worth every penny, but going back to when we made the choice, we would have prefered a state school if a decent one had been available to non-church goers in our catchement.

NB
Regardless of what you read on Mumsnet, 94% of parents did NOT choose private

local state school was in special measures, knew we were going private from year 3 so made choiceto do from reception. Don't regret it one little bit, dd now in lower 6th.

A number of reasons:

1. She was already at the nursery attached to the school so it seemed logical to continue
2. We did not want a church school which eliminated most of the schools in our catchment and we were really was not happy with the remaining ones. We did apply for state but were offered one miles away and IMHO offering a poor quality education (ofsted rated it as inadequate)
3. DDs half siblings had/are having a private education and DP felt it fair she should have the same opportunity
4. The school offered excellent wrap around care between 8-6 which was essential to us due to our working hours
5. We were lucky enough to be able to afford it and regardless of reasons 1-4 we could not have chosen it without that.

oh and though we didn't realise it at the time I was very grateful we did when I discovered the mad settling in regimes some of our local schools run for weeks and weeks

1. Both DH and I work FT so I needed DC to be looked after 8-6. I needed holiday clubs. State didn't provide the service, private did.
2. For early years, the cost of private was the same as a day nursery. They hook you in then escalate fees as the DC get older.
3. I wasn't impressed by the State primary. I didn't want the sort of school that believes in the likes of non-competitive sports day.
4. State schools won't prepare you for selective entrance exams, private will.

notjoan
A lot of teachers went on strike to protest about being regarded as merely childcare
but you are SO right about the "non-competitive sports days" - I became a governor and helped get them abolished!

Where have teachers got this thing about 'childcare' from?
I paid to get teaching from Teachers with additional before- and after-school childcare provided by Childcare staff. Does that phrasing suit you better?

As a working parent with no support, I needed wraparound. If State weren't prepared to provide it (and they weren't in those days) then I had to look elsewhere. Do you think it is a good idea to make the middle classes (who can afford the option) to abandon State education? Don't you want them on board?

Facilities, opportunities for learning and class sizes. Also was impressed with the confidence of the children when I went to look around at the open day

Wraparound care was the decision maker for me. Not offered by our local state schools. I had intended to send ds to state school and continue using a CM but she changed her mind and said she would no longer do a school run to our village. I love the fact that ds can fully participate in school life and do after school activities without me having to negotiate what time he could be collected from school (which would have happened with the CM).

Another factor was the cost - cheaper to pay school fees, wraparound care and holiday club than pay for the CM.

I'd add the one negative is about 80% go on to the senior school. Obviously a lot of parents see that as a positive and it is actively encouraged by the school. I see it as a negative as I think it makes the pupils very insular. It must be odd to be in the same school environment for 14 years and is definitely not something I intend to do with ds.

We have chosen reception at a small prep school for DS because all of the state schools in our catchement area are dire. Our nearest school is actually in special measures.
I am trying my damndest to find him a very good state school when we move though. There is a good deal that I don't like about the whole prep school system.

Wraparound care, small class sizes, outstanding facilities and because the children and school had a lovely vibe/community feel.

"Regardless of what you read on Mumsnet, 94% of parents did NOT choose private."

Not exactly true, though at any one time 7% of English schoolchildren are in private schools. The percentage of children who have been in private education at some point in their childhood will be higher. For example, currently 18% of pupils over 16 are in private schools according to the ISC. Similarly the statistics for children in private education varies significantly on a geographical basis, with some areas having only 1 or 2% of children attending provate schools whereas I seem to recall that at least 1 London borough had over 40% of children in private schools.

wrap around care for working mums - particularly a problem 14 years ago when ds1 started private reception, small class sizes, specialist teachers from an early age, a high pe profile - with specialist teachers, and a boys only school, allowing 4 yo boys to not be compared with their more advanced female counterparts.

Hello

Thank you all for taking the time to reply.

You have all echoed my reasons for leaning towards the private system.

I have a couple of concerns about the one we're thinking of so wondered if you have any thoughts on this.

My daughter is a very bright and articulate little girl but is very sensitive and I think that she will do better at a girls school. I also think class size is important. I have only recently discovered that the class size in the private school we're looking at will be 24 in the reception class as opposed to 30 in the state school. On the one hand I think it's better than 30, but then wonder if only 6 less will make any difference?

Also, when I first enquired about the school, it had a single form entry into the reception year. We were really pleased when we had a letter to say that DD had passed her assessment. About a week later, during a conversation with the admissions office about something else, I found out that they were actually going to have 2 reception classes. I'm not sure what to make of this. I had hoped the assessment would sort of ensure that the school and DD were a good fit, but am not sure now what the selection citeria was?

Quite a few of the state schools we've seen and are planning on applying for, are small schools and one has already taken on a bulge class and the others are expecting to have to take one on in the next school year. I can't see how the facilities that were designed and built to accomodate 60 kids into reception and are now possibly facing the fact that they will actually need to fit in another 30. Somthing doesn't seem right on this as the state schools are bound to be stretched more than they already are.

I am genuinely confused about what to do. Definitely a heart vs head dilemma. If we don't get a place in the state school of our choice the we will go down the private route, so I'm thinking about this for then, although I'm still leaning towards the private option. We can afford the first few years and after my DS starts full time school, I'll go back to work to fund the rest of the fees. The wrap around care will be invaluable then, based on the hours I used to work before having kids.

Thank you all for sharing your reasons. It's really good to know. I realise there are alot of threads on MN on this subject but although they are interesting haven't really helped me answer the question I started with on this thread.

Take care and hope you all have a great weekend.