Primary School Choices - WWYD?

[NameChange547]

We’re lucky enough to live in an area where we basically get to choose whatever local school we would like our child to go to because it’s semi rural and all of the local village schools are undersubscribed. There are 3 schools that are feasible for us in terms of distance, all have class sizes of around 12-20 per year group, all are rated good by Ofsted. Based on these characteristics, would you go for:

A) The school in our own (larger) village. 5 mins walk from our house. DC currently attends the school nursery which we have been happy with. Mixed catchment - an area of more affluent housing that we live in, and then the other side of the village has a large area of social housing. There’s a fair amount of social deprivation at the school e.g. they open all summer to provide free lunches for the children and there’s a large uptake. Results are quite poor (well below the national average). The school is known for being amazing for children with additional needs, and as a result people travel with their SEND children to bring them there - this may account at least partially for the poor results. Our DC doesn’t have any additional needs.

B) One of the other two schools. Both about a 7-8 min drive away in opposite directions. Better results (in line with national average) and generally considered to have ‘better’ catchments. But we’d be committing to drive to and from school every day for the next decade (we have 2 children). And they wouldn’t live near their friends.

School A. Being able to walk to and fro to school would mean better quality of life.
If they’re all rated “Good” then their input will be similar, plus your children will benefit from learning with a diverse group of children. If it doesn’t work out there’s no pressure as it sounds like you could easily move them as the schools aren’t oversubscribed.

I always say "local" unless compelling reason why not on these threads. There are so many benefits in being able to walk to school, not have to worry about transport, have local friends, be able to pop in and out of school easily etc.

In your case I can't see a compelling reason why not, so I would stick with local.
You also have the added advantage that, if everywhere is unsubscribed, if it really doesn't work out you can always move your child later.

For my own peace of mind, I'd probably want to drill down more into that "results below average" statistic. Is this inline with the school's intake? Do they have any children reaching higher levels?

What is child like? Any SEN or likelihood of SEN? Are there any differences in the way the curriculum is delivered? Which school will suit them better? Do you need wraparound care and is this provided at the schools? Any other DC to consider?

You're only looking at one element (the school), but for me it was also important to consider the child and family needs too.

FWIW, we faced a very similar choice and chose a school we have to drive to as:

a) no suspected SEN in DC1 so weren't overly worried about this type of support
b) had an underlying worry our local school was slightly firefighting some of the issues you talk about and as our DC are 'ok' academically and socially would get slightly ignored
c) DC is a massive show off which can lead to silliness if encouraged and teachers don't have enough capacity to keep the class as a whole under control
d) school we chose delivered a lot of the curriculum outside and/or in a very practical way which really suits DC1
e) school we chose has excellent wraparound care and nursery which also provides for our younger children

FWIW, DC does still get a little bit ignored but I think that is kind of par for the course for his personality type and ability. However we are very happy with our choice, it works for us as a family and friends who chose local school have confirmed our original concerns were valid.

The school in your village.
I wouldn’t even think twice.

Maybe plan to move to one of the other villages if you think you will fit in there better. Being able to walk to primary school is important. Also if you are rural consider secondary catchment too as it comes around sooner than you think.

How does secondary school admission work in your area? Are any of these feeder schools for a good secondary, or is it purely done on distance? This would influence me. Otherwise school A.

@redskytwonight in their last published set of data - pre-pandemic so very old - they had 1 child achieving above the expected level out of a smallish cohort. It’ll be interesting to see their 2023 days when it’s published.

@KenIsAnAccessory these are the sorts of concerns we have. DC doesn’t appear to have any additional needs, seems to be bright and I would imagine would benefit from being pushed a bit (although hard to tell at this age!) I worry that in a school with so many children with varying additional needs they will be overlooked a bit. I feel this is slightly the case in the nursery, which we are happy with but I get the impression they are left to their own devices a bit as one of the ‘easier’ kids while the staff are occupied with a number of non-verbal children and children with behavioural needs. They are developing well there though.

@Unexpecteddrivinginstructor secondary isn’t really relevant as there’s one large secondary that caters to the whole area so unless we moved quite far (we’re not planning to) DC will go there.

@LobsterCrab no feeder school system, just one large secondary school that all of the children go to. Other than private there are no other viable options other than move, which we’re not planning to. It’s not a great school, but the whole area in general has quite poor academic outcomes overall.

@LobsterCrab no feeder school system, just one large secondary school that all of the children go to. Other than private there are no other viable options other than move, which we’re not planning to. It’s not a great school, but the whole area in general has quite poor academic outcomes overall.

@NameChange547 this is exactly how we felt. Our DC is bright too -about a year ahead currently at age 6, so not breaking records but doing well enough. I suspected this would be the case (and was told so by others) when he was younger but didn't want to assume... anyway he also is relatively well behaved (has his moments of course!) and has plenty of friends. I think in state sector where SEN are included in mainstream, and particularly in early years where many are undiagnosed or without support, kids like this are likely to bumble along a little bit while teachers are focusing on those that need more help. Which at a macro level is exactly how it should be...but as a parent of a capable child, not how you want it to be. The difference for us is that the school DC is at really plays well to his strengths in terms of active and outdoor learning and has slightly fewer social issues so are able to focus on overall good behavior of the class rather than firefighting constant big issues of that makes sense? This environment of overall better behavior and active learning has worked better for him as less active learning plus poorer behavior in general in the school would definitely have led to worse behavior from him.

Anyway that was a bit of a ramble but basically the environment suits him a lot better- in a school where there was lots of silliness going on, he'd be messing about, not learning. His school isn't super strict or anything but the way they engage the students in learning works really well.

I also think the 'being able to walk to school is super important' message is only relevant if you actually want DC out and about socializing in local area/live somewhere where people don't NEED to drive to school- for us we live just outside a large housing estate with many social issues... I don't want DC out and about playing there in a few years time, and all the potential issues that could come with that. The fact that he goes to a village school where 95% of kids are driven in is fine- the parents all recognize this and try to facilitate a social life for the kids as much as possible.

I’d go for one of the other two schools.

100% one of the other schools.

More children with SEN, less attention your child will get. Especially if those children don't have an EHCP with extra funding. An 8 minute drive is hardly an issue, especially if it means your children have a greater chance of succeeding.

Thank you all

Can you look around them and see how you feel? Gut instinct says school a

London Primary Schools Question!

Hello, I hope this hasn’t been asked many times but looking for any and all tips, and as much up to date information as possible.

I’m an American planning to move to London in February 2024 with my 9-year-old son (UK Grade 5). I’m looking for the following:

1. What London Zone 1/2 areas have the best state schools (preferably smaller class rooms)? We’re renting a flat to begin with and have a budget for rent of about £3k/month so I’m open to anywhere that this can apply to.

2. Does anyone have recommendations for private primary schools with rolling admissions (not a dealbreaker) for under £20/year if possible? I’m trying to weigh our options.

Thank you!!

A.
Walkability.
Friends.
Already settled into the school community
You don't know yet whether younger DC has any SEN presumably so this also covers you for if they need extra help or something comes up with older child
If results are low sie to a large intake of SEN kids bringing down an average it doesn't affect what grade your child gets, just how much he school performs on paper.

It might be worth talking to other parents to make sure the school adequately staff classrooms to account for the extra reqs, the number of support staff between schools differs massively. We've always had 3 staff per class minimum

Hiya, no London state schools will have small class sizes. They will likely all be fully subscribed with class sizes of 30. For smaller class sizes in the UK you’d either be looking at countryside schools or private schools. Schools in London are generally good, each area will have better and worse schools. As you’ll be making an in-year admission the better schools will generally have waiting lists so you won’t have so much choice.