Which would you choose? Small School or state school?

[Smallschoolchoice]

Ds is about to go into year 1 and he has been ok in reception at his state school, not overly happy but ok. Some tears going in, and lots of complaining about going. And things don’t exactly get more fun in year 1, so…!

He has been offered a place at a very small private school.

I am very torn! The teaching style and school at the Small School (it calls itself that) would suit him very well. I like the staff and what they do a lot. But it’s so small that I’m worried he won’t have enough friends to choose from! He’s very sociable and is all about friends.

He wants to leave his school and try the new one. But I hesitate as it’s so small. There are 40 children total, aged 4-11.

There isn’t a third option. Both these schools are walking distance and I don’t want to be driving or getting the bus anywhere.

What’s more important? The big pool friends to choose from or having a lovely day at school?!?! The state school he’s at is a two form entry, so there will be 60 kids in year 1 alone, which is more than in the entirety of the Small School!

I think that 40 is too small and would worry that the school was not financially viable. It might suit him in Year 1 but he's likely to find it increasingly claustrophobic as he gets older. It will also be limited on opportunities - how can your child (say) play in a football team if they can't even muster 11 football players? So unless you want to move him for a year or so and then move him back (and this is possible), I'd keep him where he is.

To be honest it has occurred to me that I could move him back to the state school if it didn’t work or felt just too small.

It’s tricky as DS wants to move and try the new one, but it is very small! Like nursery again I suppose, which went really well so maybe that’s good for a 5/6 year old.

Does anyone know what the benefits of a small school are? The school is at capacity, it doesn’t want to grow any bigger. It is intentionally small and has been going for a long time.

Is the state school under-subscribed, and are you confident it will remain so? If not, he might not have the option to switch back.

There are lots of benefits to a small school - children make friends across the year groups; it can create a strong school community; children get more opportunities to take part in things like plays, sports as they can't be selective due to the number of students. They may participate in more activities (ie swimming, residentials) as the numbers are lower.
But the are downsides, which I'm sure countless MNs will be along to tell you about shortly.
Does your DS have any friends at his current school?
Can you afford the small private school? Long-term?

40 is far too small! My DD is at a teeny private but even that is about 130 pupils including the nursery. It’s 1 form entry, her class is 15 and that’s 9 boys to 6 girls, sports are often done jointly so nursery with reception, year 1 with year 2 etc. I don’t know how a school of only 40 aged 4 to 11 would even work. How many boys his age even are there? Do they do any sports? Are they taught in mixed year groups?

What is it he doesn’t like about his current school?

Will the specific reason be addressed by the other school?

Mine are at a comparatively small (15 pupil entry) primary - it's been good for them, but any smaller would have been too small for them - and it doesn't really allow for many fallings out and realignment of friendships as the end of year 6 looms and they're all ready to move on.

Some kinds find the looser structure of reception a bit overwhelming (DD1 was one of these) and found things much better in year 1 when the day was a bit more structured as well.

His current school is quite strict on behaviour, which is the most I can get out of him as to why he doesn’t like it!

This small school seems very nurturing.

He definitely has friends and he’ll keep them as they live around the corner.

I know this seems minor but when I think about things like Halloween and birthday parties etc, he likes to walk around in big groups for Halloween; and invite everyone in his class to his birthday party. With so few kids his age, would he miss that? Or would he just be in a mixed age group? I do like mixed age dynamics, but I just worry that there might not be enough little mates for him to make at the Small School as well.

He’s an extrovert, basically, and it seems like such a nice school for an introvert!

We can afford it throughout. Would be nice not to spend the money, but then when wouldn’t it?

State school has a massive turnover. Eventually we’d get back in.

I do also worry that with such a tiny community, if one bad thing happened (parent or a kid dynamic), would the whole thing then feel overblown? Where it might be watered down in a larger school?

The main issue with small schools like that is that they don’t need to lose many families before the finances become unstable and with VAT being likely this may be more likely. However, I would still go for it and then keep an eye for another larger alternative private for when DC is older if the school starts to lose pupils.

I would always go by destniations of leavers. Try to find out where they go from each school at 11+ and choose the school where people go to the better secondary schools - private or state.

(Also remember Labour has a report coming out on I think 23 July about poutting 20% VAT on school fees and removing charitable status from private schools other than SEN ones so it might have an impact. Even the Guardian had an article on the effect on a small Welsh language privatel school charging £4k only a year if VAT went on the fees under Labour.

40 over 5/6 yrs if reception to yr 5/( means 8 ish in a year ?

Far too small

Would also worry it would close

I would keep him at state school with friends

I moved my dc from state to independent school with just 70 pupils aged nursery to year 4.

It was a really good move. Small classes, nurturing environment where all staff knew every child. No problem making friends. My only regret is not going earlier.

My two DDs are in a small primary (90) kids. They've been unlucky with each only having 3 other girls in their years. We'll move DD2 at some point, so I'd say 40 is certainly too small.

I'd say that whilst reception is supposed to be play based we didn't see much change going into year 1.

And there's an aspect of resilience to teach if he stays. Clearly I wouldn't say this if there was bullying or something.

And finally whilst his friends are local they will do different things through school that he wouldn't be able to do, concerts, plays, sports matches etc. So he could start to lose touch with them or feel left out.

Agree with others that it is far too small.

Not just friendship issues, but realistically, the Y5s and 6s aren't want to be interacting with the Y1s. They are worlds apart in terms of ability so learning together wouldn't really work - I wouldn't want my 11 year old learning with a 5yo for most areas of the curriculum. Whilst it may benefit the younger students, I cannot see much benefit for the older ones.

Sport-wise, there is the physical aspect to consider - some Y6s are fully grown adults - they couldn't play most sports with younger kids, so there would be very limited opportunities in school for team sports, and very little chance of competitive sports with other schools.

Even with music, the range of ability across such a small number of children would restrict the options for group playing.

Ask the schools. Go to your child's current teacher or head and lay out your thinking. Get their perspective. They may have noticed that he is unhappy, or they may be surprised to hear it as he's usually so settled and engaged. They may have suggestions.

Do the same at the small school, I'm worried about this and this and this. See what the school says.

If he wants to move then listen to him amd move him.

I think small classes are fine for junior school, and have loads of benefits IF the school is committed to supporting an inclusive dynamic.

mine joined a class of less than 10 students part way through reception. Not usually so small, but Covid dynamics meant very few students started that year (private school). The teachers have been very proactive about encouraging relationships within the class so that everyone is friendly even if they have stronger relationships with some than others. A lot of time is spent discussing what it means to be a good friend and classmate, and while there is zero tolerance of bullying there is really little need to intervene as the culture is just so much more respectful than what we saw at the larger school.

They also frequently join the year above or the year below for different sessions throughout the day, and have developed some close relationship there as well. I think they have formed relationships with kids that they might not have in a larger group, and I think that is brilliant. The school itself is bigger than yours - want to say 150 in total- but my dc know just about everyone, and everyone knows them. My shy dc has really come out of her shell, and she skips into school with a smile.

smaller classes also mean more teacher time, as well as better ability to do activities or go on trips that would be impractical with a larger group. they do extracurriculars outside of school as well, which broadens their friendship pool.

if you like the school, and like the way children and teachers interact with each other, I would think that is more important than ensuring the opportunity to find a ‘perfect fit’ friendship group.

I know the school - it’s well established and I wouldn’t think it would close? I know several pupils and ex pupils and all have just gone on to local state schools nearby, it’s not a particularly academic place at all. Vibe I get is that it’s lovely for the little ones but from y3/4 they can start to outgrow it. Two of my friends sent theirs for KS1 but then moved to the local school later. One is really happy with her older girls there BUT it definitely has an alternative vibe with the Alexander technique and all the naps! Which suits her as she is very alternative.

My sense is it’s lovely but it’s a pretty extreme way to educate your children. It’s very “different” and intentionally so and appeals to parents who want to really take a wholesale different approach. If you just want a normal school that’s a bit smaller, well, that’s not what it is.

But maybe I’ve got throngs wrong as there at least three state primaries in walking distance from the school I’m thinking of and you say there’s no third option... Apologises if I’ve muddied the waters