Priorities when chossing your child's school

[HairyToe]

Once more surrounded wherever I go by the dreaded school conversations so thought I'd canvass a few opinions here - hope you don't mind.

When I was picking a school I felt that driving children to school was bad for environment, bad for children's health and bad for the community so my ability to walk to school was one of my main priorities ( though not my only one obviously).

Many other people I meet don't seem to consider that at all and are happily scouring the surrounding district for the perfect school, seemingly taking it as read that they'll drive.

I pulled ds out of a private school a few miles away from home and a PITA to get to and placed him in the local school down the road. Big mistake, he was bullied like there was no tomorrow. Local schools are not necessarily good ones.

In reality there is little choice unless you can and want to pay for education. Your LEA will place your child in the nearest school to your home (as long as there are not too many people living even nearer than you, in which case you will be placed in the nearest school with a place regardless of how far it is from your home) unless you fulfil other criteria which, unless there is a sibling at your first choice of school, is unlikely.

I fretted long and hard about which order to put my choice of primary schools in until I realised this was futile!

It's pointless to be honest. I should have choosen ds's secondary school in September, they sent the form out late so I had 2 days to choose The one in our catchment was in the newspaper, a lady who went in to advise the teachers on behaviour was knocked out by a child

ds is back in the private system. I can just about manage it.

Proximity to schools is something you think about when you buy/rent a house.

Message withdrawn

Currently 'choosing' a primary for ds:

Here are my priorities, not necessarily in order.

1. Green space with trees, as opposed to a paved school yard.

1. No disruptive classrooms.

1. No emphasis on testing (in Wales, so not that much of an issue anyway as primary doesn't do them).

1. An understanding of the correct place of ICT in primary schools (NOT Rose's recommendations).

1. Walking distance.

I imagine the shopping list of things you're looking for in a school varies according to where you live. There's no point wanting to be able to walk to school if the nearest one is 8 miles away. Choosing carefully where you live is the key. I think.

It's funny to watch the way local schools come in and out of fashion. New headmaster at one of the Village schools? Suddenly it's all the buzz at Playgroup about getting in there. Or Junior School across town went into special measures 6 years ago; suddenly our close-by primary was almost over-subscribed for Reception intake. Many people still drive past the Across-town school to bring their DC to our local school.

Then 18 months ago the Infant school across town (next to the Junior school with former problems) got an Outstanding Ofsted; mega stampede back by local parents to get into that Infants, even though it means their DC feeding into the Junior school with previously awful reputation. Now people who live 200m from close-by school brave morning traffic everyday to drive their DC to Across-town Infants school.

I think sometimes logic doesn't come into it...

We decided where to live on basis of being able to walk DC to school.

We had 4 schools withen walking distance. Ruled out Catholic, another has a special needs unit and DS1 had special needs. At that stage we didnt want him in a school with a unit. which left 2. Very similar catchments, similar results , similar ofsteds. We went on feel +. What was likely to happen to the schools in the future. The one we didnt pick was due for rebuilding and expansion.+ Amount of out door space.