State schools vs Private schools for Primary - what is better?

[RPost]

My son is starting school in September and I am between sending him to a state primary school or a private one. The private school has 18 people in his class and year (96 in the school in total). The state option had 90 kids in his year alone (3 classes of 30). My question is, is there a significant difference in state funded education and private schools at this age? (4-11). Is it worth the money? thanks

I think it’s totally down to the child, which would suit them better.

Mine both went to a large 4 form entry 30 per class primary and did great, academically and socially, but I know of a few children who were moved from their school to private, so it didn’t suit every child.

I think private primary schools are a bit of a waste of money but I understand why some parents switch to private from state as some children really struggle in state schools.

If you like the look of the state school and have spoken to other parents who send their children there try it first you’ll save yourself a ton of money! You can always move your child if you need to later.

I don’t think it would make a lot of difference academically.

It depends on the schools and the child. Not all private schools are great and some state schools are outstanding.

Our kids go to private primary as they are very academic and the pace of teaching they need is best achieved in the private sector. There is also much more physical activity and sport which benefits both cognitive and physical development as well as access to high quality, language, music, drama and art as well as an array of lunch time and after school clubs. Not all private schools will offer this.

I have friends whose children have SEN and needed smaller more nurturing schools for one of their kids while the other went to state school.

There isn't a one size fits all answer and if you can't easily afford it, it will rarely be worth being financially stressed over.

If you can afford it then go private especially if you're considering it for secondary. I didn't used to think like this - I'd have said before that you'd be mad to go private if you have a great primary state school - but I'm that mum who has 2 DC at the great state primary and planning to send DS private for P6 next year. Between lockdowns in his P1 and P2 where the school struggled to adapt, 2 years of inexperienced probation teachers and a growing number of disruptive kids in class, he's so far behind. The whole class is though. Thankfully his teacher this year is good but I'm keen to move him asap. Our catchment secondary isn't great I should add otherwise I'd bite the bullet and keep them in state with tutors to help DS.

Depends on the school. There are excellent and not so good in both sectors. Bear in mind that it's easier for a private school to do a snow job-state schools are obliged to publish data, and don't have any money available for cosmetics.

Depends on the school, mine are in private and they get a lot of attention as a class and id say the class is so much more advanced than i ever was at that age. Most I know who started on state, are prepping to send their children private later on.

Mine were state (great London primary) till year 6. Then (at the v last minute) sent oldest to a private for year 7. Younger one followed 2 years later. They’ve been fine and adapted well. Now doing A levels and gcses.

It depends on your circumstances and the schools. I am glad I did not send my dc private for primary, as they have done well at their state school and we did not fork out a fortune. However, if I had unlimited funds, then I would send them private from primary. There is the benefit of sport and faster pace. And do not worry about getting into secondary from state school, as long as you prep (to make sure you cover the curriculum) you will be fine for 11+ My dd is going to an academically selective school for secondary starting in Sept.

In my experience, there's a spread within both sectors but it's more condensed in private. I've typically found that the best state primaries are better than the best privates but that the worst state primaries are definitely worse.

And IMHO the state school is potentially too big and the private is potentially too small! Do you have any other options?

Depends on each school and each child.
Our allocated state option for ds1 didn’t work out as teachers were overrun with kids with social/behavioural challenges, minimal resources and ds1 has some mild additional needs that couldn’t be catered for. Private has been fantastic with small classes, more individualisation possible, broader curriculum with lots of music, classics, sports, drama. Very nurturing and supportive.

look carefully at the options and your child, there are big differences between schools depend on their particular context and priorities. You can always change school if you want to to, esp at 7/11

We did state primary until end Yr 6 then Yr 7 (secondary) private however the primary was a lovely rural village school with class size of 14-18 per year. We didn't see the point of paying private for smaller class sizes when she would get that anyway in her state primary. It also gave us chance to save up for secondary fees. I think she would have thrived in private prep school but we just couldn't afford fees from 4-18 yrs old.
We did have to get a tutor in Yr 6 for the entrance exam as the primary was behind in the curriculum due to Covid etc but overall no regrets.
It depends very much on the child + the current provision within your local state primary school.

Depends on the school. We moved into the area after the application deadlines and the local state school is single form entry with very little waiting list movement so we’ve gone private. It suits DS really well and he gets a lot of extra support for SEN (dyspraxia). 21 per class.

But there’s other private schools which are rubbish and actively kick out kids with SEN. Equally the only state school with space isn’t great- lots of supply teachers, behavioural issues and other things going on. I volunteer to hear KS1 read at that school as I feel they need volunteers more than DS’ school but I’m glad I don’t have to send him there as horrible as that sounds.

Depends on how much money you have, how good the state school, what the catchment is like, how competitive entry to the senior school is. (Although you could get a tutor.) And how convenient both primary options are.

State schools are really struggling at the moment - many don't have enough or suitable staff, and cannot recruit TAs, or are only recruiting less experienced teachers as they are cheaper. Many have not returned to a full set of after school clubs, trips and extra-curricular activities. There is an increase in children with SEN, which increases the workload on staff and means that it's harder to give help to other children. The cost of living crisis means that more pupils are struggling with hunger, health and social issues, which places a large burden on school staff. Lockdowns and lack of socialisation has meant that more children are less school-ready at reception age, so even if your own child is doing well, staff need to focus on those children who lack basic skills like being able to sit and listen, and take turns. And (in our area) there has been falling birth rates, so school funding has reduced as it is paid per pupil. So there's an increasing gap between state and private, and state schools which used to compete well with private are already having difficulties. There are huge recruitment shortfalls for PGCE courses so the staffing problems will get worse (until perhaps a new government comes in a changes policy). Children who might have thrived at their local state in the past, might not under these circumstances.

My dd is in a prep with a class of 12 which works well for her - there is another reception class but they like to keep classes small (both classes have f/t teacher and TA), but a wider group of children to socialise with (they mix classes for certain lessons like music). She has really thrived there and loves the range of subjects (music, French, Forest School, drama, PE daily).

@gelio is correct. I'm a school governor at a popular state primary and children are coming in much less school ready and the cuts means the offering is less rich. Luckily this school is oversubscribed (unlike the others in the area which are suffering from the changing demographics) which is helping with funding but for many schools its a perfect storm.

If you are going for a state school, opt for one that is full and large (larger schools use their funding to do more) and ideally with an active PTA that can help support the school financially. A state school with parents that can provide financial support will have better facilities and more enrichment