moving to Poole

[nightskies]

Hi there We are moving to Poole in Summer from London. Keen to know views on Old Town Infant school and Ocean Academy. We will initially be living fairly close to Poole Hospital. My little boy is 6 and I would love to meet local mums. Any advice on settling him in and making friends would be gratefully received. Also looking for after school childcare that could drop him back to my house if possible or take him to after school activities from September. Where best to look? Thanks so much.

I have a friend at ocean academy who loves it. Are you selling in London? Its a bit cheaper here. We love Poole, so many places we can take the kids and often free.

I dont know.of any clubs who drop kids back. Do ocean have an afterschool childcare onsite?

Best bet would be a childminder if you want your child taken from places and dropped back. But you'll have to hunt about for that or maybe look at a nanny.

No idea on the schools but Poole is nice and the surrounding areas are lovely.

Thanks both for your reassurance. I'm lucky to have housing sorted so its about the childcare and schools. Hope little one will settle in and make friends and me too 😊 Thanks for the advice.

What is your 6 year old into? There's tons of clubs and things. My eldest liked gym and rainbows (beavers in your case) and swimming at that age. My youngest (5) prefers the club's the school offers as isn't so confident.

Do you know the area well? I'm all excited for you at all the exploring you have coming! Beaches, Falmer Palmers, Upton country park, Moors Valley Country Park, Corfe castle, Poole Park, Baiter (and scoot round to Poole Quay!) beaches...

Ramprats is a kids scoot /skate park that's in Poole.

Sea Scouts as he gets older, he'll learn how to sail and kayak etc. That's based in Poole. Tons of stuff going on but if you give us an idea of where abouts you'll be based and what sort of things he likes then I'm sure we can help.

Also most schools do a whole ton of after school clubs, mostly free so he is sure to make new friends very quickly.

We moved here when my youngest was 6 and we have never looked back, it's a brilliant place to bring children up.

Coffee - I don't live in the nicest part but love all the things the kids can do and easy reach of beaches/forest /heath/ purbecks. Each holiday there's tons of things on, we are genuinely so lucky to live here :)

Thanks Table and Coffee , its great you are so positive and have such great experiences. We are excited but i know i will miss London especially the cultural side.

But we will be by the hospital so quite central and near the lighthouse which will be nice. Little one loves being on his bike and doing gym club at school. He loves being outdoors. I love the idea of sea scouts. Is their normal scouts? He also sings and likes musical stuff so

Oh yes he defo needs to strengthen swimming skills. Are there good classes nearby? Thank you so much.

Gymnastics - olga at rossmore leisure centre is fantastic for gymnastics/trampolining.

Swimming - nearest for you is the dolphin swimming pool which is so close, but there are others (Broadstone, rossmore) that have classes.

There will be tons of places to bike :) So much outdoors to explore. We still go into London/stay with friends back in London occasionally. Tbh we were in an outer zone so didn't go in the centre as much as we could have!

Lighthouse is fantastic, brilliant range of shows and dance. We've seen some great kids shows, they usually have a selection each holiday. Also mini bso - people from Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra but for kids.

When he's 8 he can join the youth chorus of the bso choir at the lighthouse if that's his thing. There's plenty of drama/musical theatre places if you want to pursue that.

Lots and lots of beavers. I've got girls and we're not central so not as sure where but I'm sure there website will help.

So excited for you!

No advice but I have family in Poole and it's so lovely there. Friendly people, lovely scenery etc, good luck!

Tons of places to learn to swim as posted above. Corfe Mullen, Poole, Broadstone. Also got places like Splashdown for fun swimming and Littledown which is over in Bournemouth has a fun swimming session on at weekends and holidays - lots of inflatable toys to throw about and float on.

Sea scouts is based in Poole and there is also a Scout hut in Poole not far from the hospital (my girls go to Sea Rangers and use the same hut).

Poole park is great for cycling plus you have places like Upton House and the New Forest isn't far for a day out. Moors Valley is great too for a walk/gruffalo hunt.

Once your son starts school you'll be able to find out what his friends are doing and where they go and it will all slot into place. He's still at the age of finding out what he likes to do but I will say that swimming is an absolute essential down here. Pretty much everywhere is surrounded by water and having those skills will open up a lot more to him as he gets older.

We were down at the beach this morning and there were people out on jet skis but as soon as it's a bit warmer the sea will be full of kids. This was the view from the cliff top at 8am. My dp is a lifeguard and my DD is a junior lifeguard so we were helping to marshall the 10k run. It's a great community.

Lovely picture coffee! We were on the beach Friday and often go after school -it's so much quieter when it's not holiday season isn't it.

I knew about sea cadets but not Sea Rangers. They look amazing! My eldest is a brownie, but I wonder if she'd prefer that to guides when the time comes.

Thank you for the beautiful photo. Ill be in poole soon looking around. I am really keen for little one to swim so thats probably the first thing for him to get involved in and of course to let him develop his interests. I love the idea of beach after school! 😀I will have to make sure i can do that a few times with work. Love sea cadets. You seem so very happy which in turn makes me excited about the move.

I dont drive yet though will take lessons. Till i get my licence it seems there is good public transport to get around and adventure? Thanks so much for your time, its much appreciated 😊

Ooh and i checked out the lighthouse. Thankyou. There is lots happenning there. I love music and theatre so its great to have this on my doorstep.

Oh we love beach after school! On the very last day of summer term a whole group of us head down and the kids all run in the sea in their uniforms :o

But we do spend a lot of time down there after school, especially if it's really hot. Nothing like a good swim and a picnic after school to wind down.

We tend to go to Branksome as parking is better, some on road parking meaning it's free. Plus far fewer tourists in the summer.

Poole Quay has loads of themed events. Tuesdays is Bike night - motorbikes, hundreds of them all lined along the quay, bars open, ice cream, fish and chips. Lots of live music. Harry Paye day is in June - if you are on FB then check out the events section for Poole. Harry Paye day everyone dresses up as pirates and they fire cannons, have street entertainment, music etc. There is classic car nights - normally a Friday evening. Fireworks every Thursday evening all through the summer. There is a vintage day when everyone dresses up from the 50's and loads of live bands etc. Pubs do BBQ's on the quay so always food options or take a picnic.

There really is masses to do. You'll hopefully be very happy here.