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
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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.

I actually think the academic achievement is better in school 1. 57% expected in a school with high pupil premium and SEN vs 75% in a nice middle class area - I bet the value add at school 1 is way higher. Sounds a bit like school 2 is coasting on its intake while school 1 is working hard for its performance.
My kids have been to school 1 and school 2, OP. My SEN child actually got more support at school 2 because there was much less competition for resources. A friend whose child had more severe needs ended up pulling her from school 1 because she was way down their priority list. But my DS was happier and had more friends at school 1. He loved the forest school and all the extra activities. We've been able to provide them for both our kids out of school since moving, but it's involved more work.
I also worried about the FSM figures, but in our case the intake was incredibly mixed. My DS was in a class with children in foster care and the DD of an opera singer! Obviously I don't know what your area is like but for my DSs that was a huge advantage. Everyone feels much more homogenous at school 2.

If you think your child is clever, have a look at the numbers of children achieving greater depth in each school. It is in the DfE performance tables. We had a similar choice and chose school 1, in part because they had a lot more children achieving greater depth than school 2 - the numbers achieving expected standard tend to be closely related to demographics.

We were right to choose school 1 as it turned out that the differentiation my child got was outstandingly good. It was clear that the school was really good at and used to catering to a wide range of abilities. School 2 did not seem to do as much for those working beyond the expected standard according to mothers I knew with children there.

I didn't look at results when choosing primary schools but am more familiar with them now as a governor at my children's primary. 57% meeting expected standard at the end of reception is below national standard, which is around 68%. High numbers of SEN and pupil premium don't necessarily explain that, as we have both and are an inner London school, but achieve 90%. So, given that you have looked into results, that would worry me. The second school being undersubscribed can be a worry, especially by a full class size, but it sounds like their reception intake numbers are healthy and not indicating a wider issue. One of the schools in our fedaration is undersubscubed by the same number but it is due to demographics of fewer younger famiies in the immediate vicinty. So school 2 does sound better, and a 15 min walk is a nice length, and friends will still be close by.

I thought national performance was around 60%?