Anyone changed primary schools ?

[80sbabe]

I find myself in a difficult situation.
My dd is year 3 but DH and I are no longer as happy as we were with the management of the school and the direction it is going in.

We were more than satisfied with DS1 (now yr 11) when he was there, and have got progressively unhappier with the progress of DS2 (year 6) but we are now seriously considering moving our dd at the end of the current school year.

DS 2 will have gone to secondary school then so it won't affect him.
I have no worries about her adapting to a new school and making friends, but I am worried about the procedure.

Do we have to give specific reasons for wanting to move her ?

How do we approach a new school ?

Has anyone been through this and how did it work ?

If we have to declare our intention before the end of this year will her present school be able to object ?

It's not about the teaching standards of her present school which are essentially very good. It's more facilities and the ethos of the school. It's changed beyond recognition since a new head started two years ago. We appreciate schools change with headship but this seems to be change for the sake of it rather than because it's needed.

We wouldn't change schools until the end of the year but how early do we start the process if we go ahead ?

Any advice anyone has is greatly appreciated.

I changed with both boys when ds1 was in Year 2 and ds2 was in Reception. The school they were in was only infants and ds1 didn't want to go to the next door junior school for Year 3, and when I looked into it I thought the other school would probably be better for ds2 as well.

For us it was pretty straightforward, but I think it might depend on the local authority. We applied via the local authority and both boys were put on the waiting list for the school we preferred. We had to put a reason on our application form but it didn't go to the head at their original school. I did actually go to speak to her as I felt we had had a good relationship and I wanted to explain our decision. The school also sent us a leaving questionnaire but I don't think I ever filled it in.

I think I was pretty lucky, though, as I knew there were some places coming up in Reception. Ds2 got his place first, then ds1 was bumped up the waiting list because he already had a sibling there. We also lived almost equidistant between the two schools. Someone else not much further away than us had been waiting for longer to get their Yr 2 boy in (with a daughter in Reception already) and we jumped in front of them, which I felt a little guilty about.

Once we had made the decision, however, and been offered a place, we had only a few days to decide whether to take the place or not. So both boys changed school in the middle of the school year. I am not sure how it works in practice if you want to wait until the end of the year.

I think most school moves are done by the local authorities now so go on their website and see what the procedure is - they should be able to tell you if spaces/waiting lists are in the schools you are interested in as well - I am moving my DS1 as we are realocationg and you can apply 6 teaching weeks before you want the place but it will vary between authorities I imagine

i moved DS in the middle of year one. last feb. the school was DIRE! he was being treated like a bully not the bullied and his SN's were not being addressed at all. But, like you, the ethos and facilities of the school were a big factor in wanting to move.

The process i did was.....Phone the LA and express a wish to move, and which school i wanted. They couldnt see the capacity status online with it being a CofE school, and said they would get back to me and let me know if there was any places.

I put the phone down and physically walked down to the school, and asked to see the head teacher regarding moving my DS
Luckily he was available, and after a chat, he said he would look into it.

Within 2 weeks we had a tour with DS, a confirmed date for transfer after the half term, and found out his best friend at the school was actually moving at the same time, and was being kept in the same class with him.

hope you have a smooth process like i did, but i know i had it SO easy! i was very lucky.

keep us posted xxx

Thank you for your advice.

I contacted the LEA who are going to send me some information but they suggested that we go and look at the other two local schools that we are interested in first.

If we want a place at a new school for DD in September then we cannot apply before 1st June or we can apply now and move the both straight away.

The first step really is deciding on which other school and then if we really do want to move them.
Both DH and I are rather angry with the school at the moment and although we have discussed it in passing having made enquiries seems quite serious. I want to make sure it is the right move and not a knee jerk reaction.

They are not being bullied but DS has not made as good progress as he should and we have a newish head who seems hellbent on change for the sake of it which is terribly disruptive to the life of the school.

I will keep you in touch - we have an appointment in 10 days at one school and I am waiting to hear back from the other.

good luck huni, you know best, you know what your child needs and weather its to move or not, you will do the right thing, trust yourself.

good luck with the visits, i know everything happened very quick for me and its not normally that fast, but i think i shout loud and get heard when i know what i want lol.

look forward to hearing how it goes huni and if you need a chat at all pm me xx

I moved my DD at the end of year 1. Best move I ever made. It was a few years ago and I just phoned my preferred school and asked if they had any spaces. I think the LA does that now.

Even if you don't have a space until September, you can withdraw your DC now and home educate til the Summer?

HSMM Even if we wanted to we couldn't go down the home educating route as both DH and I work full time - mortgage, bills and 4 children to support means that we couldn't possibly do it.

Thanks for all your advice and I will keep you posted, we have so much to think about.
At the moment the school they are at is a short walk away in the village where we live. Moving them will mean they will have to be driven to school.

Also, even though we are unhappy it doesn't mean the children are - they both seem fine and as I said it's more about the school direction and leadership than the actual education.

They are in very small classes of 10-15 now but the other schools we will look at are both much bigger with 2-3 classes per year group of 25-30 a class.
I suppose we have to weigh everything up don't we and think very carefully.

The first step though is to go and see the other schools and then think a bit more.

I suppose I am worrying because it's more about DH and I feeling uncomfortable about the current school rather than the children having any specific problems there.