children at diffrerent schools?

[mo3g]

I have 3 dd's , 2 at school p3 and p1 (Scotland) My eldest dd gets on really well at school no issues at all. My younger dd is very unhappy not settled, is in a composite class and is often poorly now due to the situation, the teacher has tried and can see how unhappy she is but is unsure how to help her we are at a stale mate? Over the holidays she is gone back to her happy self and just feel this school may not be meeting her needs. There is a new school opening next to us in the summer which could offer us a place the set up seems much for up her street and has much smaller class sizes due to being new the problem is i wouldnt want to move eldest dd as she is happy but is having 2 kids in different schools workable or should i just stick in and see how younger dd gets on next year in same school? Anyone done this for these reasons? thanks

Depends on how far away the schools are from each other and what starting and finishing times they have, so that you could do two school runs. Quite a few people I know do this - younger child might be at an infant school and older child at a junior school, or younger goes to a state nursery, older child goes to an independent prep school etc. It's not unusual for the younger child not to find the school of her elder sibling/s a good fit- this has happened to two families I know. In the end, moving the child (sometimes not by choice) to a school they would not have originally considered eg private, further from home, less prestigious institution, etc etc...turned out to be a) happier for the child, and b) massive improvement in the child's academic results.

Don't leave it.

If your child is a different child during the holidays, then during term time, then there is a problem.

You have to do something to help her.

Yes, it's workable. Many of us do it when one is at nursery and one in early primary; or infants and juniors, or primary and senior; or if you move and get out of step a bit whilst school places at destination settle down.

As the new school is close to your home, the extra logistic burden is likely to be small anyhow.

I have 3 children at 3 different schools. I know of a family who at one stage had 4 at 4 different schools.

We tried to pick the best school for each of our children, and for our family dynamic. Eg, I have one dd who is G&T for English. Dd2 is dyslexic. I thought it would be really hard for dd2 to follow dd1 through school, being the "slightly thick" sister. (she is not thick, at all, but I was concerned about others making the comparison.)

I believe strongly in single sex education, and I also have a ds. So, of course he is at a 3rd school.

we have on more than one occasion had our children at different schools. the first set of schools we used were infant and junior however we moved dd2 out of the infant school in year 1 as they were unwilling unable to help her with her dyslexia and put her into a private school ds started in this school as well and did reception in this school before we moved and for 2 years we only had 1 school (and for 1 year nursery as well) currently we have 3 schools dd1 at one school dd2 at another (both secondary) and ds and dd3 at the primary. this will soon change to 1 as we have applied for dd2 to go to the same secondary school dd1 is in hoping this will go through just after Easter. However ds is grammar school material so in September 2013 we will be back to 3 schools there is a possibillity dd3 will also go this way and if she does we will end up with 4 schools.

It is easier in secondary times though as they tend to get themselves too and fro. when we had dd1 in junior dd2 and ds in the private school we would bike dd2 and ds to their school then turn around bike dd1 back to her school before biking dd3 to her nursery. In the afternoon dd1 would usually walk home with her friend arriving generally 1 or 2 mins prior to us so would sit in the patio waiting. I ensured she had 1 day a week where I collected her and then we went to get her siblings (the school had a after school club)

It is possible but does depend on you being willing and able to work at it. You have a tight turn over in the morning but providing the schools have breakfast club or a 10/15 min turn over where you can leave the kids but not need to be present it is possible until you have made friends where you can share school run with them. For me removing dd2 from the infant school was the best decision we ever made and I would not ever hesitate to take a child from a school I do not feel is right for them. It was easier back then as we had a situation where we lived in a area where there was more schools hence more possibilities now we live in the country side and less choice however it has worked out ok on primary level and larger choice in 2ndary level.

I have 3 in 3 different places and anticipate this being the case for the forseeable future. My eldest is at our local state primary, my middle is at a prep and I have a little one at a day nursery 3 times a week. I moved my middle one last term for similar reasons to you, she was incredibly unhappy at the same school as her brother. The situation had been going on for a year, we thought that with time it would resolve itself but it didn't. Over Christmas her behaviour and whole being improved hugely and by January I was dragging her through the gates to school bu which point we realised that we had to do something about the situation regardless of the inconvenience. There was never any question of moving our eldest who is happy, settled and doing very well.

On non work days I drop the eldest the moment the gates open, race the 5 miles to the prep school and get her there in plenty of time. In the afternoon I pick up at the prep and manage to get back to the primary just as they come out. It is a bit of a pain but more than doable. On work days i have someone who walks my eldest to primary and then takes the youngest to nursery whilst I drop the middle one at breakfast club. She then picks up the little one from nursery and the big one from primary and stays with them at home. The middle one stays for late club and I pick her up on my way home. Our youngest will go to the primary just as the oldest leaves for secondary so we will always have 3 schools on the go.

My advice would be to go with your gut feeling, I knew that we took a risk moving my middle one. I hoped that we would improve the situtation and felt confident that if the same issue followed us the smaller classes and excellent pastoral care in the new school would help support us in dealing with them. As it happens, she changed overnight. She absolutely loves school, her work has improved 100 fold, she has made friends and not one of the issues the old school mentioned has risen, her new teacher was shocked when I told her what we had been dealing with. It is the absolute best decision we have ever made for her and is worth all the hassle.

My DDs have only spent a year in the same school. DD1 attended school nursery, then infants while DD2 was at a private day nursery, then she moved to a separate junior school when DD2 started Reception. When they were in Yr 6 and Yr 3, they were in the same junior school. Now DD1 is in Yr 10 in a state co-ed boarding school and DD2 is in Yr 7 at the local girls only CofE high school. It works for us, they are both in schools where they are happy. When DD1 comes home to do sixth form she won't go to DD2's school for that - she is determined to carve her own path!