To move before or after primary school starts?

[terracottalime]

DD starts primary school in August this year. In a bit of a dilemma over a house move, would it be more of an upheaval to move in the summer and start school or wait til the following year? Current school has a roll of approx 400 pupils, new school would have 40 so much smaller. She’s at nursery now so will have friends for starting school here, but worried that waiting til the following year would be more unsettling for her.

I’d move asap. A school of 40 kids in total? That’s tiny!

Or 40 per year?

@Falalalalaaaalalalalaaaa 40 total, it’s a tiny village school!

I'm going to be honest unless I had to move I wouldn't be moving to such a tiny school.

If the move is inevitable then before school starts would be more logical. She may find it quite a shock to go from a busy school to one with so few potential friendship options.

I’d move before she starts school but I wouldn’t want my DC going to a school with 40 pupils.

I would definitely move first. That said, I personally am not sure I’d opt for a school of only 40 students. Mine have both gone to small village schools of 80-100. But our next closest school has only 35. It’s only 2 classes: reception through y2 and then year 3 through year 6.

One of the challenges is that it takes only a few families leaving to turn everything upside down. A friend decided to change schools and she had 5 children (an issue because they all end up being in classes with siblings because of how the year groups are combined) and now suddenly enrolment dropped to 30 and the school is getting close to being shut down.

Anyway, that isn’t what you asked, but definitely move before starting. It just means you can properly settle in and make friends (and no risk of not getting an in-year place which would be a problem in a more over subscribed school).

I’m another one who would move before school starts.

I’d move before school starts, but I’d also not move to such a small school.

I’d move before starting. It’s going to be trickier socially because of the small size, fewer potential friends. If she arrives in year one she might find it difficult to break into established friendship groups.
Plus she would go to all the effort of settling into a new school and then have to start all over again with a drastically different one.