Which one would you choose?

[PeggyPiglet]

Our DD has just turned 4 and will be starting school next September.

We're in a bit of an odd situation in that we live in a small village and our closest school is a private school (5 min walk).
The nearest state schools are a 5 minute drive away (not walkable).

School A - the private school. Tiny intake. Currently about 12 in this year's class and that's a reception/year 1 mix. Fantastic facilities, teachers, definitely had a private school feel. Fantastic extra curricular activities. About 3k a term. Bit worried about small cohort and friendships but she'd get heaps of attention/focus. Small cohorts all the way up school bit gets better around junior stage as more parents put their kids in around this age.

School B - state school. Good facilities, 5 min drive, intake of around 28 a year. Did feel like the reception classroom was a bit small for the cohort and the outside area needed some attention. Definitely felt like the school needed some money spending on it but I know finances are low. Headteacher was excellent and really sold the school but was honest about their last Ofsted not being great and they were turning it around. Single year group classes.

School C - state school, 5 min drive. Facilities bit better than school B but lower intake (around 10 per year) and mixed year group classes. Nursery/Reception class only had about 12 kids. Bigger classes further up though. Felt like there'd been alot of staff changes recently. Ofsted not great but again, head was 'turning it around'.

We're really torn. We can afford private school but it's still alot of money.
I work as a teacher in state school and I know what challenges state schools are facing currently.

I know it can only be our decision and only we have actually looked around the schools but any thoughts from other perspectives? Are private schools really worth it from reception?

Thanks

I think a lot has to depend on what you thought of the head and the staff. "Turning it around" might be great if everyone is pulling together as a team, or terrible if they're managing out weaker/more expensive teachers and struggling to recruit replacements. Staff matter a lot more than the facilities - I think happy staff is what I've most wanted to see when looking at schools. A lot of recent staff changes might mean things are now more settled, or it might be an ongoing issue.

Other things to consider are school transport (if it's more than 2 miles, then presumably there is transport to at least one of the state schools) and whether there is any wraparound care, should you need either in the future.

It sounds as if transferring to the private school later would be an option, so it might be worth giving a state school a try to start with, and saving your money in case it's needed later.