In year moves - is it always this hard?

[Magnificentkitteh]

I'm looking at other options for my dd1 who is about to finish year 9. Her current school is struggling on various fronts and the final nail in the coffin is they can't accommodate her twin passion of art and history at GCSE, which she's properly gutted about.

The trouble is I can't find anyone to talk to about what options any potential new school could accommodate. We are in London and my search is straddling several boroughs. The council admission teams have generally been helpful at helping me identify potential schools but obviously for more detailed questions they refer me to the schools themselves and I'm getting nowhere with my approach of emailing and asking for an appointment to discuss.

I won't hear whether we have actually been allocated a place at any school until after term ends which is why I'm so keen to find out some information in advance so we can make an informed decision before accepting. Part of me feels the lack of responsiveness is a red flag but it also seems to be universal. Can anyone advise? One of the potential schools has a summer fair on today and I'm thinking of turning up and seeing if I can find anyone to chat to. Is that wise?

Alternatively if anyone has any tips about how to persuade her current school to let her do art I'd be grateful too. Her art teacher seems quite shocked but is getting the same computer says no response from the head of year. That might be because there are so many parents in a similar boat and they're working through the issues but that in itself has shaken my already faltering confidence in the school, as the timetable for options allocation has slipped massively and none of the promised conversations have happened.

Is going private an option? They’ll be much more accommodating. DDs sixth form rejigged the timetable so she could do French, Spanish, Maths and Biology and that was with less than 2 weeks until the start of term (yep we left it late as she decided to change schools).

the smaller class sizes make tweaks like this easier. Also they ‘ll get her up to speed very quickly if needs be in the GCSE classes.

Thanks @TheCountessofLocksley I really don't think so, but at this rate I'm starting to wonder as it would only be for two years. But then private school is one of the things DD has strong views about anyway, and she needs to be on board. Private schools have generally finished term so I might have a similar issue with the information vacuum. Thanks for the suggestion though. A Google can't hurt I guess!

Well yeh - you'd be a nightmare if you tried to have conversations like that with teachers volunteering at the school fair 🙈 Surely you wouldn't?!

Many have finished but not all - some finish today. Yes curriculum is often more flexible (but is still bound by option blocks to an extent). Admissions departments in decent private schools generally work through the summer so you are likely to get a reply. I still probably wouldn't move her if she's generally happy, but I agree that if you do move her, private would be a good option - if you find the right school for her.

Look. I'm not a total idiot. I'm a supportive parent of a DD with bags of potential and additional needs. I am supportive of teachers too and just want a respectful conversation about the art of the possible.

Everyone seems quite focussed on the school fair thing. It's a public event, part of its purpose is engaging with the wider community and showcasing the school. So i am going for that purpose given their actual open day is not until September and will spend some money as well.

I also want an appointment to speak to someone about options etc before the end of term. I can rock up on Monday and wait if that's better but to me that feels even more pushy.

1. Erm, who's called you an idiot? What I see here is a lot of people giving you a lot of good information and advice.

1. People are commenting about the school fair... because you brought it up. People are trying to give you good advice not to accost teachers in this way about your requests to have the school curriculum adapted for your daughter- this is not the place. However, if you choose to ignore the advice, that's your call.

1. As I said, worth getting in touch with private schools. State schools are in an absolutely dire situation right now (as you are possibly just beginning to discover) and if you want the curriculum to be adapted for your daughter, you may have more luck private.

No one out right called me an idiot but there was a cringing monkey face and lots of suggestions i am a nightmare which doesn't feel entirely fair in the circumstances. I have said several times I don't expect to have a serious conversation at a school fair but perhaps a casual chat with someone about who the best person to contact might be and how best to get engagement next week. Given my daughter might actually be joining this school in September I don't think it's totally unreasonable that someone might reply to my email if they see that I am serious about their school and wanting to engage with it, whereas at the moment I am just an email in their inbox.

Thank you all. There has been good advice and support on this thread.

I don't think it's true that I'm only just experiencing what schools are facing. She's been on waiting lists for a school move for over a year because of issues with her school in particular and I am by no means the only parent looking to move schools. Years 7 and 8 are half empty. But that's all kind of by the by. I don't really need to persuade people on this thread that I've taken everything into account. I just wanted ideas about how to engage with the various schools involved. Thank you all.

To be fair, you DO sound a bit of a nightmare 🙈 (and no, that's not the same thing as being called 'an idiot'). And I say that as a teacher working at a top private school with very demanding parents (and my kids in private school too) so I don't say that lightly!

Well, whatever you decide to do, good luck to you - and I hope it's the best choice for your daughter. Glad you've found the advice useful.

I'm not sure what about me sounds like a nightmare. I've said I'm quite stressed but the only thing i actually want is a chat with someone so I can make a decision in the best interests of my DD. I've had some useful suggestions but I don't really appreciate the emojis thanks.

Lol okay don't worry about it. Good luck 🤦🏼‍♀️

Thank you.

Anyway they've just emailed to say they'll try and set up a meeting and maybe a tour for next week if the relevant staff are available, so am feeling happier.

Don’t go the fair - there won’t be anyone relevant and their computers won’t be on if there is.

ring and ask for the name and direct line / email of the person responsible for admissions - in many it’s connected with an admin role like exams perhaps.

And looks like it's only RE they start in y9. Compulsory RE is a whole different question for DD to ponder but good to know.

Sounds positive @Magnificentkitteh – hope you are able to sort a good outcome for your DD.

@ShiverMeLogs For Art??? Talent! It’s noticeable!

@MagnificentkittehThe schools that are desperate to keep grades high teach a 2 year GCSE course over 3 years. Ofsted are not keen. Art and History is a perfectly reasonable choice and I’m amazed Art is oversubscribed as it’s hard work. Of course being good at art should matter. We seem to have schools that don’t care about dc any more.

As PP has said, I don’t think people who don’t work in schools understand how frantically busy the lead up to the end of term is. Admissions at our school involve the Headteacher and her diary is solid between now and the end of term next week, and there will be operational issues that she’ll need to get involved in during that time that will leave even less space to consider admissions. Our admissions manager is neck deep in the incoming year 7 admissions/new systems from the local authority and DfE.
You have left it VERY late to do something about an in year transfer and are now expecting overstretched school staff to jump to attention and seem miffed that they aren’t. You are being VERY unreasonable to expect this. I suspect your possible meeting won’t happen but please don’t moan at the school staff if it doesn’t. You should have started the process/tackled the options issue much earlier.
And don’t go the fair and expect staff or parents to be able to engage with you. They’ll be stretched too, especially in this weather.

Oh whatever. I've not left it very late, I've been on the waiting lists for over a year. We only just got the options letter which crystallised my thinking because being able to accommodate her options was one of the pros of her current school and it is now a con.

Anyway, I went to the school fair and two lovely members of staff on the ticket desk for the fair spoke to me in a lot more friendly way than many on here obviously would. I think they were pleased to talk to someone as they had been there a while with no customers as it's getting late. They confirmed that RE is the only subject that has started the content teaching for GCSE but it's compulsory, and that art and history should be fine, and even Spanish has interventions and catch up if she needs it, but that if I can get the meeting arranged I'll get a tour as well, and they confirmed I now had the right contact. It took Iike 3 mins of their time tops and I got to see the kids dancing and eating some great food as well as see their building on the inside and I'm feeling a bit better informed.

I still don't know what we will do as I'm also getting positive noises from her current school that they're seeking to address various issues with the options.

Just a thought, but if it ends up that she can't do it, have you had a look at the British Council Arts Awards? These would sit nicely alongside her gcses and count as well on ucas etc My son was keen to do them but we are outside London and couldn't find anywhere locally that support them, but you will have more resources in London.

Thanks that sounds great, I'll have a look

Just wanted to update this thread after everyone's helpful advice. I did manage to visit the new school and have a conversation about options. History would have been fine. Art was full though textiles was offered as an alternative, which looked like a possibility, and they were willing to see what they could do to squeeze her into art. She would have had to do Spanish and RE which would involve some catching up.

In the meantime though we have also managed to sort things so she can study art at her current school. It involved quite a lot of angst and a switch from French to Spanish to accommodate it, but my daughter is so relieved and after a bit of soul searching has decided to stay where she is. There were a few downsides to the new school (mostly social) as well as some upsides (mostly academic) but in the end it came down to the fact she really loves the art department at her current school and is now excited about building her portfolio, and ready to work hard on Spanish.

We are really hoping some of the issues her school are facing her resolved and at the very least the impact is felt less in year 10 and 11. As I said, the school has a lot going for it and the uncertainty it is facing is sad.

The new school has a lot going for it too. It's new and has clearly made an impressive start. We definitely would have pursued it if her current school hadn't worked out. As my DD said she hadn't realised quite how much doing art meant to her till she almost couldn't.

All the best to anyone facing similar dilemmas. It's extremely stressful. And all the best to teachers too. I had emails from her head of year at 10pm with potential ideas but in the end the Spanish compromise that unlocked it was dd's idea. I have another thread looking for catch up classes in Spanish but hopefully will be ok. She studied both till end y8 when they stopped offering two languages and she was forced to choose.

Thanks for the positive update @Magnificentkitteh I was worrying there about picking up Spanish GCSE cold in year 10, but if she has only had a year off from it, it should be fine. CGP do good KS3 books to help catch up.

Thanks yes BBC bite size has some useful looking stuff too and school have given her some materials. I did Spanish GCSE from a cold start back in ancient times and got an A* so I know it can be done, though it's fair to say languages aren't dd's first love

I would strongly recommend Michel Thomas' spanish courses. The starter one is only about 8 hours long and it's so good for speaking and listening and with Spanish it being pretty phonetic makes the writing a lot easier if you've got the speaking and listening. You can often get them out the library on CD as they are quite expensive to buy.