private to state primary

[makemineasnowball]

Apologies in advance; I have already created a previous thread on our situation. However There have since been further developments and I need some objective advice.

DD is in yr 3 at a local private through school. She was moved there half way through year 1 as we were really unhappy with her state school.

In a nutshell she is bright and has done reasonably well at the school but she is in a seriously small class of 5, which has raised concerns about her social development. We were also had issues with the lack of progress information from the school and lack of evidence of any individual education plan (expected in a private school and certainly in a class with only 5 children).

I raised these concerns to the Head in November but received very little reassurance. We felt we had no option but to give notice and applied for a place at another outstanding state primary. DD has been offered a place to start after half term.

However after Xmas it became apparent that other parents felt similarly and there have been subsequent group meetings with the school. The school has finally pulled its finger out (helped by a change of Head) and now has a raft of changes in place to improve matters. Some of these have happened, some are in hand and will be complete by Easter.

Our dilemma is do we leave DD at the school as see if these developments come to fruition or do we move her?
If we leave her to wait and see we risk losing her place in the primary (she was offered last place) or do we just move her?

However, To add a further complication, her current teacher and the school SenCo now suspect she may have dyslexia (very spiky results for literacy and numeracy) and the SenCo has advised we do not move her for the time being. Thinking being she will not get decent support in a class of 25.

Sorry to ramble...DD is feeling very unsettled as she knows we are thinking of moving her. We have a week left to inform both schools and have told DD we will tell her this weekend. For the record she is happy where she is and doesn't want to go just don't know what to do for the best

When I saw your message I instantly though it may be my sons old school but as I read on I saw a change of headmaster so I may be wrong.My son spent two years at a very small prep school, we moved him because of bullying issues at his previous one.It was the worst decision we could have possibly made.

The school had only about 55 pupils,now I know why.My son was in the tops sets of his previous school,the new school thought two year groups together which was a disaster.No work was being done for large parts of the day,most other parents seemed oblivious to this.I never saw the results of a test,teacher could never tell me what be happening next term.There was no plan what so ever beyond keep in the school open.

The behaviour of some of the children was so appalling it would not have been tolerated in the worse of state schools(the children's not being stimulated can't have helped).I found myself in a very difficult situation as I you I had moved my son alredy.I worked endlessly with my school outside school and during the holidays to keep him going forward.I am not even sure the school knew what level he was at when he left.

The school had an isi report while we were there which was bad but not as bad as they deserved.They were issued a notice to improve.They has since had an ofsted report without notice allso damming.Results of these were never given to parents.

My son has now joined a new school(it's early days but is amazed be work load) but I still feel angry that a school such as this can remain open,if it was a state school it wouldn't.I hope this has been of some help to you I have certainly learned that a bad private school is worse than any state one.PM me if I can be of anymore help.

Have you looked up her current school's financial records?

Because I'd say a school running yr3 classes of five children is racing towards either closure or merger. It's completely unsustainable (unless you're on an island off the coast somewhere?) If so, they wouldn't tell the parents - you'd perhaps receive a letter on Friday telling you not to turn up on Monday. (No personal experience - just read it here more than once.) I'd be taking their promises with a large pinch of salt.

I suspect the SENCO is telling you not to move her because the school want her to stay to keep her fees coming in. If she has dyslexia she should not have poor numeracy scores.

Lots of children have spiky development but it might be worth finding out about special needs support in the state school just in case its not good. If the head is only making changes after pressure from parents it does not sound like he is really up for making substantial changes

Also be very wary of your daughter suddenly having dyslexia and needing extra help,I know my old school would certainly have stooped that low.If she does need a little extra support the outstanding state school will work with her and you.At least you will be able to trust them.

However great the improvements are she'll still be in a class of 5 with the same limited social interaction.

All very valid points...
School finances just about OK; no imminent threat of closure and a new investor has been brought in(

Size of class is fact I either have to accept or not. If DD was receiving an exceptional education size would be less of an issue for me

Yes did feel a bit when 'dyslexia' suddenly started being mentioned. I do have great trust in the SenCo as DS also has problems and she has been fantastic with him. However a big part of me thinks any warm eases DD might have are mainly due to the crap teaching she's had over the past year.

DH is speaking with the Head of the state primary today to get her honest opinion on what sort of support DD would get.

Dreaming hope I'm not being too specific by asking which region of the U.K. You're in?

I will private message you.

For a primary school aged child without severe learning difficulties I do not believe there can be any advantages in being in a smaller class than 15-18. This is based on my having had 3 children go through primary school. They need a larger social group in which to mix, they need a wider range of stimulation than is possible in such a small group. Any dominant character will be far too powerful by the time they are year 5. I would also worry about the financial viability of such a small school.