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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

When to change schools?

9 replies

DexieCat · 21/05/2012 11:11

My d is really unhappy at primary school being a bright child in a reception class that does not challenge her. Despite discussions with school (and it's a good school with a good record), it seems that they aren't prepared to go the extra mile and stimulate her in school as they really just seem to want everyone to be the same. They make me feel as if I'm causing problems because she isn't the same as the others!

We do have a choice of schools round here and I could move her - and could even do this before the end of the year.

The question is: do I leave her for another year where she is very unhappy and hope that her problems will be solved in Year 1 or move her now and hope things will be better! She has friends at school but none close enought for her to really miss them!

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DoingItForMyself · 21/05/2012 11:30

We moved DS1 for the same reason. He'd already moved school due to a house move once and we'd promised he wouldn't have to move again, but were so disappointed with his new school that we couldn't leave him there to fester. (He & his friend were regularly sent out of the classroom to 'work independently' on the computer - writing stories, playing games - as they were ahead of all the others. This wasn't exactly stretching them!)

I felt awful about breaking our promise to him, but knew that it would be better in the long run. We moved him a few weeks before the end of term so that he would have a chance to get to know his classmates before the hols and also so that he wouldn't get caught up in the 'new term' flurry of activity. He had so many new friends within a couple of weeks and now regularly bumps into old ones from the previous school who are at his secondary, so it worked out really well for him.

Good luck with whatever you decide. For the record, when applying for his new school we were advised not to say anything negative about the other one, but to focus on why the new school would be better for us as a family (distance, siblings etc). I also got our local councillor to write a supporting letter for the appeal process.

seeker · 21/05/2012 11:34

How do you know she is very unhappy? What does she say about school?

lou2321 · 21/05/2012 11:53

I personally would move as soon as possible as she is in YR and I think the younger they are the easier it will be.

We are on the waiting list for an independent school for DS1 but as he will be in Y2 at the earliest when a place may become available as they have to give a terms notice to leave the school we have said we will move him after the 1st term definitely but not sure about the last 2 but in YR/Y1 we would have moved him at anytime.

dixiechick1975 · 21/05/2012 12:57

What is the yr 1 class like?

Reception is supposed to be play based you may find yr 1 suits her better if it is more structured.

Can you look around the yr 1 class at her school and the schools you are thinking of?

IndigoBell · 21/05/2012 12:59

If school make you feel like you (or your DD) are a problem - I think you should move.

cookiesnap · 21/05/2012 13:24

Yes, move now if you are unhappy. My dd is ahead of the rest of her class, and was telling me that school was boring for the first time a few weeks ago. I was wondering whether I should let her lovely teacher know that she was saying that but in the event I didn't need to: the teacher called me in one day, told me what they were doing to stretch her, and gave me extension activities to do at home if dd wanted to. It's all very low-key, and dd seems instantly more engaged.

That's what your ds's teacher should be doing.

tiggytape · 21/05/2012 15:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

seeker · 21/05/2012 15:54

Just be very careful that you are not projecting your feelings. I think a lot of us expect our reception children to be doing more formal academic work, and don't really notice how much they are learning by other means. And remember, year 1 is a very different beast to Reception!

DoingItForMyself · 21/05/2012 18:03

That's true actually. My DS was in Year 3 when we moved him, so had it been reception I probably wouldn't have been so worried about him not being stretched. DD started this year and her first couple of terms seemed very play-based, but this term they're really kicking it up a notch in preparation for Yr 1.

Maybe as others have said, discuss your concerns. The way they are handled will tell you whether this school is where you want her educated.

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