How much impact does a change of primary school have?

[ISpyPlumPie]

DS is only 2, but thinking ahead in terms of a potential housemove. I would ideally want to move now to ensure we were in the right catchment and to avoid any change of school. DH is however becoming increasingly concerned that we would be overstretching ourselves, particularly as we are also planning DC2 so would have to factor in mat leave and additional childcare costs after that. He thinks it'd be better to wait a few years until I'm maybe back at work full time and DC are at school so we're not paying fir nursery.

I agree that in the short term, things might be a bit tight (and just had first valuation which was a bit disapointing) but I reckon it would still be just about do-able. Alternatively, we could maybe look at a smaller house in the new area. I just really don't like the thought of switching schools unless absolutely essential, however DH doesn't think one change at primary level would matter too much in the long run. Would love to hear the views and experiences of other parents/teachers about this.

DH is in the forces and DS is on his 3rd primary. He is absolutely fine, happy, good at making new friends, top table for numeracy and lit. So many of our friends children go through several primary schools and are all still doing really well - it only seems to become a problem at secondary level.

Thanks, that's good to hear (especially after today's valuation!) I suspect I am being a tad pfb and that most children probably are pretty adaptable. I think the other thing that's bothering me though is that the schools seem much better in the area we are thinking of moving to. This is largely based on OFSTED though and I know that's not necessarily the full picture.

I was moved to a new school at 7. I found it very difficult and ended up missing lots of school due to anxiety. I think it depends very much on the child and their personality.

Having said all that another move in senior school (at 14) was a breeze, but I was more confident by then.

In our family we choose the school(s) and then move near it (them). You can always move again once your child is safely at the school you want.

My dad was in the forces, so I moved from several different primary and secondary schools. It was never a big problem, I think most children are pretty adaptable and it clearly didn't affect my education too much - I got my PhD quite a few years ago now!

DS1 has also just moved primary schools in year 2 as we had some problems with his class teacher in his previous school (bullying). He has settled into his new school really quickly and I have no regrets about moving him. In some areas, primary is split into separate infant and junior schools, so children will move schools anyway at the start of year 3 in those areas.

I think it probably just isn't worth moving if it will stretch you financially - is there also a possibility that your dc can go to your desired school when living out of catchment? We do not live in the catchment for ds1's school, but were lucky enough to get the last place available in his year group.

Thanks for the resplies everyone. Oldmotherdismass - staying put and applying to our preferred school anyway is something I had considered, particularly as it's in the same LEA. It would be a realistic distance to drive each day, walking would be out of the question though. Does anyone know if there is a way of finding out the precise catchment/how far from the school the furthest pupil who got a place last year lives so I'd have a better idea of our chances?

In our area you can find out the precise catchment from the LEA website. I think in terms of chances of getting in, it doesn't matter how far away previous children live from the school, but it goes on priority. Children within the catchment get 1st priority, then children with siblings in the school, then everyone else on a first-come-first-served basis (in the absence of other reasons). We live driving distance from ds1's school, but too far away to walk and we were offered a place, but ds1's friend who applied a day later did not get offered a place, even though they live closer to the school as they received our application first (there was only one place left in his year group).

I'll check the website again. I couldn't find the catchment areas, just the admission criteria for each individual school. They all seemed to have distance as a tie-breaker after children in care, siblings and (if applicable) religious involvement rather than catchment granting initial priority. I suppose it will depend on the no. of applications each year and how many are in the priority categories exactly how close you would need to live to get a place - impossible to predict! Do some areas not have catchments, or is it likely I've misunderstood?!

How do you find not living in the immediate vicinity of the school? As I say, driving won't be a problem I am just a bit concerned about the social aspect. Do you find your DS gets excluded from anything as the other children are neighbours as well as fellow pupils? I suppose this is probably less significant than when we were at school (less playing out etc) but would be interested to know.

DD is on her fourth primary in her fourth country. She is an adaptable little thing it seems.
With regard to living in the vicinity, we had two schools where her friends were spread far and wide. It fell to me to transport her around.
Currently, her school is about two miles away and she goes on the bus, on her own. If she wants to meet up with friends, she either gets the bus, or I take her.
She is almost 11.

As a child I attended 4 primary schools in 2 different countries. The first 2 moves were quite easy but the 3rd- at age 11- was difficult. I think young children are very adaptable, but it does depend upon the child and the school.

I went to 5 different schools between the age of 7 and 9.
The first 2 moves were absolutely fine, the 3rd move was ok but by the time the 4th came round I was completely fed up of it.

One move (particularly in the earlier years of primary) I don't see as any problem at all.

Sorry I don't agree re the forces thing.I am a forces child,was in top groups for everything but there is often a delay in being put in said top groups,repetition and gaps. Yes I got a degree and became a teacher myself but I think continuously moving did have a big impact on my education.

We've been considering 1 move ourselves but I'm chickening out now.I think keeping your kids in one school is a huge advantage for many. Many parents have no choice(mine)re moving but you do.

All kids are different,will handle things differently.At 2 your ds is still v young and you don't know how able he will be,confident etc.

I'd try and avoid it if I could.

My husband is in the forces, the experiences of my children moving schools every year or so were detrimental, it is estimated by that a child can revert 6 months in his/her learning on each move ( I got that info from an article by the Army Families Federation). My eldest had 5 primary schools and she was in one for only 6 months the longest was only 2 years.

Really interesting to get a few different perspectives on this. If we do move, it will be to another part of the same borough (but a part with better schools and amenities). Lots of other aspects of our lives will remain constant - similar distance from grandparents/other relatives, same nearest 'big town' etc - so hopefully there won't be as much general disruption which may help. Very good point however that DS is only 2 (and any future DC don't even exist yet!) so we've really no idea how they would cope as individuals.

I think I'm also quite conscious that we're in a very different situation to families who can't avoid moving (forces being an obvious example,but aware there are lots of others). The move is motivated by trying to provide better opportunties but this could end up being negated if a change of school has adverse consequences.

At the moment I'm leaning towards staying put for now, but trying to get DS into our chosen school (looking at previous admissions figures it was not oversubscirbed although I know this could change year on year) and moving at a later date. Realistically, we'd be doing all the ferrying around for activies/playdates for quite a few years yet so I don't think he need necessarily be excluded due to living further away.

I think it depends very much on the child. I moved primary school twice and was left very anxious and withdrawn, particularly the second time when the school was very different to what I had been used to (formal vs open plan). I know that times were different, but my mother did not bother trying to keep in touch with my old friends so I really was starting from scratch. I remembered the feeling very well and agonised about moving my children away from a school that we were very unhappy with.

My children were fine however, and never looked back. They did have more out of school activities so had a wider network anyway. And I did make sure that they saw some of their "old" friends as long as they wanted to.

I wouldn't worry. You sound like a lovely thoughtful Mummy!

My dad was in the forces when I was young and I moved primaries 4 times. I found it excrutiating at the time and can remember several very difficult first weeks. However, in the long run, it has been a positive thing and I am very confident and can pretty much strike up a conversation with anyone now.

Thanks RiversideMum . Glad to hear your DC are happier now too.

Don't leave it too late, I would move up to year 4, up to yr 3 at the latest.

We've just moved ds in yr 6, academically good but socially bad, the friendships are too strong, he can't seem to fit in anywhere and doesn't feel hugely welcome. I think it was just so late to move. We did it because we were unhappy with our secondary options but God, awful to see a child suffer.

I don't want to put a dampener on your plans but just be aware that if you wait to move until your little one is at school, getting a place at a new school might not be easy. As you say, you'd be planning to move to a better area with better schools which may mean they are oversubscribed and people don't move their children out of them. If you'll be moving, say in reception, y1 or y2 and a school is already up to its 30-per-class limit, you'd have to wait until somebody moved out of your DS's year group before you could take up a place, and of course if there's a waiting list for places, you might not be top of the list. We were in a similar position with my then Reception-age DD last year. We moved county last February, but because our catchment school was full, we had to go on the waiting list. We were offered a few dodgy schools miles away and decided to wait, then after a couple of months there were no places whatsoever in our whole area. In the end we finally got a place in our catchment school, the day before school was due to start in September so she started in Yr 1. It meant she missed six months of school and I ended up having to homeschool for that time, so all I would say is you have to be prepared to play the long game re moving schools and it might mean if you do move you would have to be travelling back and forward to the old school for a few months.

DS is in yr4 and started a new school last Sept, has settled in well and made some great new friends, they will move up to high school together which was what we wanted.
He would have been the only one moving to our proffered comp from his old school.