Would You.......

[shalom]

send your child to a brand new prep school.
I seem to be running out of options for my DS. All the places for our local independant schools seem to be taken. If not the waiting list is as long as the great wall of China. The only two options i have left are
1 A school whose Ofsted report is not really good. Also i have heard from some parents that it is not that good, and some people are withdrawing there children from there.
2 the other option is brand new pre school that is due to start in January.

What would you do ? Risk the new school which realtively has no reputation, or go tot he school which does not have a good Ofsted report.
Any advice welcome thanks

How old ? You mention a preschool option. Personally would be inclined to go with that as everyone will have to move on at some point anyway by which time the prep school may be more established or a space come up at one of the others. Are there really no playgroups, nurseries or other preschools around ?

Sorry Lizs meant a new prep school . He will be 4 next month . So technically he is due to start reception in sept 2008. But both or these schools are prepared to take him in January to start at pre prep - a sort of nursery.

I sent mine to a brand new nursery then into the pre-prep. However the prep school was established already

What structure does the new prep school have in place for older children yet . If it isn't a fully fucntioning across the years set up yet I'd have misgivings but perhaps the nursery for two terms would give you a taster and you can still apply elsewhere. Is it open yet to visit in action ?

Ofsteds don't tell the full story , may not be recent, and parents tend to be biassed in order to validate their own choices. Where are others moving their kids to , I wonder, perhaps they were on those waiting lists until places came up for them and had always planned to move. Plenty at dc's school go to state infants then move. Don't go purely on reputation , visit and form your own opinion, it may suit some children and not others, you may or may not like the head etc.

To be honest i havent visited ethier school i was planning to do it after half term. The New prep school may not yet have any pupils to see it in action.
Island, when you say the prep school was already established do you mean from year three? How did you find the new nursery.
Also the already established school had a place for him from next week and i only asked if they had vacancies a few weeks ago. I am a bit wary of schools who seem to hav vacancies at this point in time of a new academic year.

Liz the Ofstead report was taken in Feb this year. Also i think , like you said people may just be using it up to year 2 and then taking the 7+

Yes, the prep school was already established from year 3. They opened a nursery and pre-prep and dd started at the nursery 4 weeks after it opened. It was and is a lovely nursery and even though I went on an open day before the school was officially open, I could just tell from the way the staff talked to you.

My ds is now in the nursery and as they take children from any point after their 3rd birthday they always have places at this point in time. By May they will have run out until the next lot leave to go into reception.

Actually dd's year 1 class has the odd place still due to people having left half way through the academic year last year (moving house etc) There are all sorts of reasons why people change schools, it isn;t always a sign of trouble.

To be honest my mind is steering towards the new school as i have experienced my dd1 going to a brand new nursery and it was very good. I suppose itf they are brand new they may tend to workharder to build up a good reputation . and maybe the other school tends to rest on its laurels!! i just have to book appts to go and visit them. thanks