Moving from Independant to State, does this sound like a good idea?

[icarriedawatermelon2]

DS has had 2 years in pre prep and is due to start Year R in a state school this sep. The pre prep has been AMAZING and a great start for him. I may ask to do 1/2 day flexi school so he can have 1:1 tutoring in maths/phonics and a music lesson. I think this would be a great way of giving some extras which tbh the state school wont be able to give as the class size is 30.
Do you think 1 afternoon a week out of school would be a problem in any way?

One teacher and a TA = one grown up per 15 children.

At the pre prep one grown up for 14 children.

No seeker! One teacher, one TA all day in prep.

I would leave it for the first term. A full day of reception and lots of new children to play with will be quite tiring for a small child. Let him settle in his new school before looking for outside tuition. I don't think 4/5 year old need extras.

Well, I think my school has the right approach to reception. My son comes home covered in mud, carrying "sculptures" that he has made out of crap rubbish and talking excitedly about the baby chicks they've hatched. Somewhere along the line he has learnt to read (albeit reluctantly) and can do sums, including division. But he spends most of his time outdoors, having fun. He honestly loves school and would be unhappy if he missed an afternoon or two. Even in reception they don't particularly like to be seen as different from their peers.

I really think taking him out like this will confuse him and slow him settling in. If he's musical then a 15 minute music lesson after school one day a week will be fine. And if you do loads of reading to him anyway, which I'm sure you do, you don't need to do anything else at this age. Reassess after a year- but don't make him "different" straight away. Imagine him trying to explain to his friends why he's not there on Thursday afternoons. And what if something really good happens and he misses it? My dd is 16, and she still remembers the day somebody brought some ducklings into her reception class!

I honestly think the "standing out form his peers because he is missing an afternoon every week" is not a very strong argument.

There are always children coming and going, and in reception where they are constantly splitting into small groups and doing different things anyway in the afternoon I think it would be hardly noticed. As you go up the school it would be more noticeable, but by then the OP could be looking at after school tutoring anyway.

My concerns really would be whether the school would be happy to allow it, and whether you can find a tutor who is able to offer what you want for your child in the way you want it. (I have been looking for a tutor to do practical science activities with my eldest, but most tutors only want to do "working through textbooks and exam questions". Not what I had in mind at all.)

I think that you are giving too little credit to the state school. I moved my DD from a state school to a well regarded prep school in year 1. She has gone in there absolutely on par with the children who have been there for 3 years. She has had absolutely no catching up to do whatsoever and at parents evening I was told that she is upper middle of the class, exactly where she was in her state school.

I wouldn't do anything at all to start off with, let him settle, talk to the teachers, let them teach and take a view in year 1 if you feel that he is falling behind. 30 children in a class does not have to be a negative, the teachers are used to it and when well managed should prove no barrier to learning.

Please give the state school a chance to prove to you that a class of 30 isn't the end of the world. Lots and lots of children are taught in big classes, and taught very well.

If it becomes a problem, that's when you contemplate forking out for a tutor. Maybe. Or maybe just being an enthusiastic and supportive parent that consolidates your son's learning with the stuff you do at home.

And most music teachers teach after school anyway. Or your school might offer them during school hours, through the County music service.

Although I do think 30 is a lot of children in a class, at my DSs previous school, he was in a class of about 16, and I thought it was a bit small, especially for a mixed school. There were only six boys in the class. A friends DS is at a prep school with small classes, where she is one of 4 girls in the class, 2 of whom are twins! The lack of social opportunities would really worry me, particularly as they get into Y4 and 5, where they often seem to fall out with friends, and need a wide circle of friends as a " back up".

Friend's DD, obviously!

keep him in the private sector if you can.

a class of 30 is crap, sorry. Yes some children rise to the top but lots either sink or just bounce about in the middle. It is amazing what children can do given half a chance, and it isn't necessarily pushing them or putting undo stress on them. The difference between the levels of achievement in R at our local prep and reception at our local (excellent) state primary is marked. More music, more drama, more sport.

Just to reassure people, no class of 30 in the state sector would have only one professional grown up in charge.

And this -"More music, more drama, more sport." - is one of the most misleading things people say about private education. Of course there's more music, more drama and more sport! It's because you are paying for it! Loads of state school children, including my own, do lots more music , more drama and more sport than they do at school. Their parents pay for it. Just like private school parents do.

No seeker, you are wrong. We pay for it BUT it fits into the school day and is totally integrated into the culture and ethos of the school. And children are praised and encouraged within the school day if they succeed at sport and music and drama. This simply does not happen in the (ofsted outstanding) state primary that my youngest child goes to. Doing sport together, as a class, in a team is infinitely more valuable than taking them to a class out of school at the end of the day, a drive away to another club with lots of other children. I do both and I can honestly say that the team ethos and emphasis on sport is far far better at the private school that at the state. I can see that you will disagree with me - if you don't have any direct experience there is no way you will understand it. I didn't until I sent my children privately.

Oh, the old "state schools never praise or encourage musical or sporting achievement" thing.

Did your read my post earlier musing on why people have an unsatisfactory experience at a state school and extrapolate from that to all state schools, while putting down an unsatisfactory experience at a private school down to a one off? This is a perfect example.

seeker the reality is that many state primaries do not have proper specialist sports staff or piches and courts and pools and gyms. This is due to resources. And sometimes size.

Pretending otherwise in order to defend state education simply undermines other well made points.

Sport at primary state level has been undervalued and underfunded for too long. Pretending that is not the case simply allows each successive government to do nothing about it.

"seeker the reality is that many state primaries do not have proper specialist sports staff or piches and courts and pools and gyms. This is due to resources. And sometimes size.

Pretending otherwise in order to defend state education simply undermines other well made points."

I'm not pretending otherwise. I'm pointing out that private schools have this stuff because the parents pay for it. A lot of state school children have access to this sort of stuff too- because their parents pay for it. They just don't pay for it as part of school fees. I remember a private school parent saying "we get professional sports coaching free" . Which she obviously didn't.

Many classes of 30 where I work only have the teacher - no TA. The TA's are put into help the bottom sets, and to assist particular individual children, (statemented normally)

4 years x 4 teaching groups = 16 classes being taught at any one time.
We only have 7 TA's. This means more than 50% of our classes are taught without TA support.

It is not a myth.

Well, my DS is in a state reception class of 20 children. There is a teacher and a TA. HE does plenty of sport - so far he has done multisports, football, cricket and tennis, and swimming next term. He can even do fencing in KS2. That's without dance and gymnastics.

larregub - that is all very nice indeed for you. You clearly feel very very good about it. Perhpas you'd also like to share how you eat what you like and only weigh eight stone.

The fact is most state primaries do not have access to those resources. That's not me saying it. That's a host of sporting bodies in the UK.

But I'm sure those DC who don't get decent sport at school will be very heartened to hear that you do.

Llareggub The contrast between your experience and mine shows how state provision differs massively in this Country.

Yes, but most people assume that it will be crap. My experience shows that it need not be. It isn't an outstanding primary school.

Educational provision is very patchy in the UK.
Pretending otherwise ensures it remains patchy.

The thing is, there are State schools who can compete very well with Prep schools. So assuming just because you pay for it the education will be better is not necessarily true.
With sport, a child might do better if they are going to out of school clubs and from 7 receiving coaching from really top level coaches, although this can be available to both State and Private school kids; there may be less private school kids there as they have already done a long day. My DCs school recently beat a whole load of Prep schools at a Hockey tournament. They often compete and beat them at Netball. However it is true that there are other State schools not very far away who do not have these sporting opportunities.
It is also true that there are some private schools which provide a disappointing education.

*Llareggub - even the Independents around here only offer Fencing at 11+. Do you actually mean fencing. Or are we talking foam swords?

I know several outstanding primary and middle schools. They do not offer what yours does. Most schools cannot afford 1 TA for every 1 teacher. Or even 1 TA for every 4 teachers.