Are there benefits to independent school at Reception age?

[mr87]

Here is my situation and I am hoping for some insight: My family is moving to the UK next month, and we are staying for 3 years. My oldest is 4 and due to start Reception this year. My husband’s employer will pay for our children to attend any independent school of our choice. We have found a house in a lovely village with a good state school that is walking distance. Meanwhile, the closest independent school that we would consider is a 20 minute drive away. I don’t mind driving, I’m quite use to it, but I keep thinking of all the added benefits of walking to school and engaging in our new community by being a part of the local primary school. Can anyone tell me if there are really any significant benefits to sending my child to an independent school at her age? Keeping in mind that this isn’t long term and we will be returning to the US in 3 years. She won’t reach an age where things such as extracurriculars and testing really matter, I don’t think. So far the only benefit I can think of is that class sizes are smaller at the independent school, but I am not from the UK so maybe there are other benefits I don’t know about. Why else would people be spending £15,000 per year, I wonder. Any insight and opinion is welcome!

I would send her to the local school. Your years in the UK will be much more fun with local friends, both for her and for you. If you want to fit in and be part of village life it will be much easier if your child is at the village school.

Your child will develop a posh accident sooner.

I would send to the local village school. Independent school doesn’t mean better. It would be much easier with just a walk to school and it will be better for making local friends and becoming part of the community.

Had the local village school got space for her?

I would say not. DD went to an independent school for reception and yr 1 before we moved house.

The only reason she ended up there was because the nursery attached was the only local nursery that could take her on the two days a week I had to WOTH when she was two.

She stayed on because our village school didn't have an after school club on the two days I still needed one and she had severe allergies which the school were good with.

No other reason for staying there for us and yes to everyone who says you will all make friends locally.

Does the state school have space for her? School allocation has passed and it’s not like the US where you just get the school closest to you. If it’s good it might be in demand and over subscribed.

But if they do have a place and you like it, I’d go for that. Much more opportunity for you both to integrate into the community while you’re here.

Id use the lovely local village school. It woll help you to be part of the local community too.

In your circumstances I would go for the village school as long as you can get a place. Bear in mind that you can’t apply until you arrive and it may be full but at Private school you can apply from abroad and stand a better chance of getting in
Contact the village school and see if they have room but remember that if they have only 1 or 2 free spaces now these could have gone by the time you move here and officially apply

20 min drive each way sounds like a pain and makes the village School sound very tempting. Do you know for a fact the the school is good? Have you read their Ofsted report, looked on the school performance website and been around to get a feel for it?

Personally, we'll be going independent all through but have a selection of good indies nearby. The things that we prefer about the indies are classes half the size, acres of facilities and far superior resources (pools, great playgrounds, sports pitches, tons of clubs, better music and art provision and resources), more outdoor time + forest school (state schools tend to only offer 1x PE a week), language lessons from an early age etc. Lunch food also tends to be nicer in indies as the budgets aren't as tight. Overall, I think it'll be a much nicer/more fun experience for DS in an indie.

Academically, it is possible to get significantly ahead of behind by age 7 so good teaching is key. Both state and independent schools can be excellent academically or a bit iffy but generally, children in indies will do slightly better (half-sized classes make a massive difference). Having said that, if the state school is excellent, then you've got nothing to worry about.

Deciding if the indie is worth 15k is a pretty personal decision and you probably need to be very very comfortable financially to be happy to spend the money at this age. Generally, in England it's pretty common to go down the state route and then move to independent at 11.

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I did confirm that the school does have Reception spaces available still, and it doesn't have a history of being oversubscribed. We have also already signed a lease on a house in the village. What I'm trying to figure out is if I can apply now with that address, or if I still have to wait until I arrive in country. I plan to contact the LEA today for details, but does anyone know? The process seems so complicated 😳

I think you can apply if you have a confirmed address, you might need to show a copy of your rental contract as proof.

If the local school really is lively, I would go for it to save DC (and yourself and the environment ) the daily drives.

Picking up on your note that the process seems complicated, one of the advantages for parents of independent schools is, of couse, that they can be much more flexible and potentially user friendly than state provision.

Could you arrange a provisional place in both, to hedge your bets.

Having signed a lease, I would be applying to the local school as soon as term ends.

The benefits are smaller class sizes, better wrap around care (often), better preparation for prep school and snob factor.

In that order.

If that stuffs not important to you go local 😃

but generally, children in indies will do slightly better (half-sized classes make a massive difference).

The other points in your post are fair, but there is no evidence that smaller class sizes impact academic achievement.

I have registered her at the independent school already, and as soon as we arrive we have a tour of the school before they can officially offer placement. It is definitely a more straight-forward process. If she can't get into the village school, I'd likely send her to the independent school. I wonder how long it would take after submitting an application to find out where she is placed in the state system.

Really? No evidence?
Pupils at independent schools do get better results on average than those at state schools. There are obviously lots of factors at play here but class size can’t be discounted.

I also think that with an address and lease to back it up you can apply now

@AppleKatie Class size is definitely my top reason for considering the independent school. I also like that it offers Forest school once a week.

In addition to the above advantages, independent schools often generate a greater sense of self-esteem and self belief.

Should say that I’m a relocation agent and some of my clients have applied for state schools once a rental lease is signed ( sometimes with a letter from the employer as back up) but I don’t want to say you definitely can do this as some Local Authorities have different rules

We applied for a state school place while we were still overseas and the admissions authority were amazing. Just wanted rental agreement as proof and then kept me informed about waiting lists etc. Took so much stress out of the process as I was worried because the local school was oversubscribed but we still got a place despite being on the waiting list initially. If your village school has spaces it should be even simpler provided you have an address sorted.

If the local school is in a village and isn’t oversubscribed then it might have small class sizes anyway.
Comparing school results is a very complicated business with so many factors involved. Intakes at independent and state schools are very different so it’s very difficult to do straight comparisons.
Small class sizes are not always a good thing. My friend’s daughter is in a class of 7 at a private school with only three girls who are forever falling out with each other.

Good point Jimjana

Also if you're going back to the US in 3 years she will not be behind her peers with a state education but the benefits of local friends to helping her settle in the UK at 4 will be important.

We moved here when my eldest was the same age and play dates and seeing friends when walking to school were a huge part of how quickly she felt at home.

4 is a tricky age to move as the change will unsettle them anyway. Security and familiarity will be more important than quality of education at that age - in my opinion!

You will have a much nicer life as a family at the village school as unless it’s a weird unfriendly village that’s how you and her will meet people locally. It’s a no brainer.

I would worry about class size in a private school due to past experiences I prefer big classes as a nice deep friendship pool my poor sister was made miserable for years at primary as only 3 girls in her year and one was extremely troubled and vile to my sister who couldn’t escape as no other girls to befriend. I wouldn’t want fewer than 10 girls in a class minimum.

@VTechnophobe Very excellent points. I think you're absolutely right that the familiarity of walking to the village school and keeping our life close and simple will likely benefit her greatly during this time of transition.