Choosing between two good primary schools as a first time mum

[MCMP13]

Unsure which primary school to chose - first child and not had anything to do with primary schools really until now so not sure what to be looking for and would just like some advice really. We have visited both schools and liked both. I know we put ‘preferences’ down and don’t get to actually ‘chose’. Both schools feed into same secondary school. How important is the primary school choice. I may be mentioning things below that are not even relevant to picking a school , this is just from data. I am a pretty clueless first time mum trying to make the best decision for my child.

Primary school 1: 8 minute walk. Good ofsted rating recently. Great facilities including Forest school and enrichment activities. Academic achievement is not the best. High % of students on pupil premium. Higher % of students with SEN. Oversubscribed number of students. Free breakfast club.

Primary school 2: 15 minute walk. Good ofsted rating recently. Facilities not as good as 1 but do have good enrichment activities also. Academic achievement a lot higher than primary school 1. Very low % of students on pupil premium. Low % of students with SEN. Undersubscribed number of students. Wraparound childcare at a cost

Sorry I missed that one
🙄

I wouldn’t angst too much about this: go with school 2.

School 2 without a doubt. Ex primary teacher here.

If you like them both, I’d probably go for school two because the attainment is better. I’d normally go for the closest school but a 15 minute walk is totally fine. My children go to our closest school, which is a 25 minute walk away, and it’s no trouble.

School no 2.

I’d choose 2 because of the higher attainment scores and the lower SEN %

You sound like you fancy Primary School 2, so I think you should do that. If you don't, you'll always wonder what it might have been like.

You can't tell as much from school and OFSTED data as people think. Everyone assumes percentage of SEN is a negative factor until it turns out their child is the SEN and then some expertise from staff is very welcome. These schools both sound great.

I think your attitude to school is much more important in your child's learning trajectory than any factor about the school. You get out of them what you put in and your attitude to education is the main thing. Your DC will have a great time whichever you choose.

I’d pick school 2 without a second thought given all you’ve said.

My dd had a 1.2 mile walk to school. It was actually brilliant - sometimes we walked, sometimes we both cycled. That walking time became fabulous for her wellbeing - we’d chat, she’d tell me about her day.

And if it rained very hard sometimes I’d drive.

It is interesting school 2 has worse facilities. It might indicate they are spending more on staff and less on stuff, than school 1 - which might also explain the really good academic results at school 1. Experienced teachers cost more and they are a real investment!

@Bigtrapeze sorry but that simply isn’t true. Of course parental attitude helps. But your child is in school all day long - if the learning environment is poor, the child won’t simply rise above because the parents have a good attitude, or because the child is naturally bright. This trite nonsense gets trotted out far too often.

My DD’s year 5 and year 6 was awful due to misbehaviour in her class of some boys who the school couldn’t or wouldn’t exclude. She did fine academically but it took her secondary school a whole year to get her back on track, and her primary school put her off reading and English for years.

I think your attitude to school is much more important in your child's learning trajectory than any factor about the school. You get out of them what you put in and your attitude to education is the main thing

While I don’t dispute that attitude is important, they do absorb things very very quickly from other children, and some of these things may not be things reflecting your values as a family.

Absolutely school 2. High level of SEND in my experience can mean that kids with lower needs slip through the cracks, and the environment can be very disruptive because schools rarely get the funding that they need to provide the support the SEND kids need.

Also don't underestimate the importance of like minded parents. It makes a huge difference to both you and your child.

My gut is 2.