Spirited child - where will he thrive?

[Clare123]

I have a very active and spirited (and sometimes very naughty) 3 yr old. We are looking for a preschool and school for him and I would be really interested in any parents or teachers experience of this.

We are looking at a number of options, but at the moment my favourite is a little school (it's independent), that isn't highly academic, but does focus on the pastrol care of the children. It also have an emphasis on behaviour (the headmistress even said we don't take naughty children!). The classes are small.

What do you think? Will my son stick out like a sore thumb or will it help with his social skills (which are not very good).

this school does not sound nice and mite end up stressing you out!my son is very active and hyper,i put him into quite a strict preschool and i was constanly called in about his behaviour,i ended up coming down very hard on him because of all the negative i was getting,something i feel so bad about now!i now can see that he was just a normal 3yr old at the time,
he is now 5 and is still active and alittle hyper,in fact when he started school they said he mite have adhd,which has since been ruled out,they thought at the time i was far to hard on him and not letting him have fun,and be "normal".and thats why he was pushing so many buttons on us,
i ended up seeking help for myself and him on how to cope and handle his behaviour,
and that has been a godsend! i learned how to chill out around him and not worry so much about rules,(im still struggling with our new chilled out rules,as ive been afraid hes going to go nuts on me) and now he is slowly settling down,in fact,this eve a friend was round and remarked on how much better it was in the house.
if i could turn back the clock i wouldnt have been so firm on him and worried so much about a strict school etc.

I agree that he sounds like one end of the scale of normal children, my DS was exactly the same and is now about to go into reception. He has had a year at a prep school in their foundation class, it is pastorally great, strong on discipline and although he struggled to begin with he is now a different little boy (at school). He knows what is expected of him and what is unacceptable behaviour but he is still very spirited and a cheeky chap but without the negative bits (again, at school only - he saves the rest for us). They haven't dampened his character at all whilst getting him to behave!
So I would say go for a school with good discipline but that understands it is just teaching kids what is acceptable behaviour rather than them being naughty. Lots of outdoor play and activities is vital too - ours have an afternoon of outdoor lessons come rain or shine and a covered outdoor play area off the classroom they can use whenever so they (the boys particularly) can let off steam. I am sure that must help.
Good luck!
Personally I wouldn't read too much into the phrase we don't take naughty children, I am sure she just meant that they all learn how to behave through being there, rather than we don't take them in the first place! It sounds as though you got a good vibe otherwise.

If you want to go private, it sounds to me like a boy's pre-prep where they're used to little boys with lots of energy- who need to run around and play games in order to learn- would suit him best.

I don't believe in private education though. My son goes to a state primary- the teachers are used to dealing with all kinds of children: quiet, shy, loud, noisy, boisterous, dyslexic, English as a second language etc etc.