State primary or private prep?

[Deelle]

My dd is currently in year 3 at a state primary.
I am totally fed up with the bullying/behaviour of the other children.
dd is taller/bigger than the other children and I wonder if this is why she seems to be the target?
Anyway, I am definately changing her school for Jan - my biggest worry is will it happen again?
Should I now change her to a private school - will the behaviour of the children there be better?
We are looking at a private school next week - there are 7 pupils in year 3!
dont know if this will be better or worse and worried sick of making the wrong decision.
Any advice?

update!!
Myself, DD and DH going to visit the small private school tomorrow!!

I didnt realise how lucky we were re grammar schools - we actually have a few scattered around quite nearby !!

Thanks again ShanahansRevenge - you have been really great !!

I woukd second the concerns about the class size of 7 mainly because I think friendships could become quite intense in such a small group so bullying may be an issue.

Also, one of our local independent schools recently closed without any warning. It turns out the classes were tiny, and the school simply couldn't afford to carry on. You need to ask how a school can afford to employ teachers, support staff etc. with such small numbers of fee-paying students. Are the fees massively high?

Well, we have been to look at the school and chat to the assistant head.
Such a shame that we had our first day of heavy snowfall - so a lot of the children had not made it in!!
Regarding the finances and history of the school: it used to be run by a husband and wife team, they have now retired - it has been bought by a guy that runs 3 other schools - the academic side has always been high, he is currently building the numbers and has been decorating etc. Finances are not a problem as he can use money from his other schools if necessary.
I was quite impressed with the greeting from the children - seems silly really - but about 20 of them streamed passed us in the corridor - loads of them smiled and said hello or good morning - at dd's current school they would just stare at you!!
Regarding the dynamics of the class size - apparently everyone gets on really well and also play with different year groups at playtime - I am quite aware that the assistant head could have made it all up as he went along - which could happen with anything - but the ofsted also commented on the friendliness of the whole school and how happy the children are there.
Our next step is for dd to have some taster sessions there next week (assuming the snow has gone by then!)
I do think dd will be happier in a smaller school - watch this space!!!

Hi it sounds nice but I would be concerned by the funding. Yes he can swap money from his other schools but long term that isn't workable. The only way to make the school work financially is to increase numbers so the school may end up bigger than you expect. Realistically they need a certain numer of fee paying students to pay wages and maintain the structure.

My concern would be you move your child now and in a few years the school closes. I would want more reassurance about the long term plan for the school.

I would agree, the finances sound very dodgy to me. If the owner is openly talking about using funds from his other schools, it suggests that the school isn't currently viable - hardly surprising with such small class sizes. And he might say that he's building the numbers, but where's the evidence? And how easy is it to build the numbers when everyone is tightening their belts?

Also, I wonder how open and honest the owner is being with the parents of children at his other schools? If I were paying hefty tuition fees for my child, I would want to know that my money was being invested in the school for the benefit of its pupils - not used to tart up the owner's dodgy investment elsewhere.