Gathering opinions

[slp123]

Just interested in people's opinions...small village school with 15 in FS2 and mixed Y1/2 class or 2 or even 3 form entry urban primary...
What are the pros and cons??!!
Thanks to anyone who responds.

That's similar to the choice we had.

I fancied the smaller school.....until I actually looked round the bigger one.

The difference having so many more staff made to activities offered and fun learning was really obvious. Having input from 3 class teachers and 6+ TAs for topics etc as well as clubs.
And the facilities were much much better.
I surprised myself by putting the larger school as first choice.

As it turned out though, we didn't get a place and DD got given the little village school.I'd been thinking that I'll see how it goes and maybe put DD on the waiting list, but she's thriving at the little school.

It is nice that the views/run to school is all pretty.
And that the Head knows all the families.
The older and younger children do things together.
DD's quite shy and the small school has been great for her confidence: she knows all the building, staff and pupils and feels safe there.
Friendships can be limiting though, and issues intense as there are so few girls in her year group.
I think, when it comes nearer the time, that I will worry a bit about the transition to a large secondary.

Have you looked around the schools?

Larger school for pretty much the reasons Sandalwood has said.
Limited friendships, and very intense if there are hiccups. Fewer activities in and outside school hours.
I'm not a fan of mixed year teaching either, we have experienced it at two different schools and it has not been great.
I am sure many teachers differentiate well, however they have not been teaching where we have been.
The fluff and romance of small village schools sounds nice, but in my experince it didn't translate in reality.
Each to their own though.

As sandalwood says big school can offer lots of opportunities clubs etc.

However, I like our small known every one primary and it has very few badly behaved DCs.

The choice may boil down to how much you work. A large school is much more likely to have childcare.

Small schools have a lovely community feel, but a horrible habit of having things in school hours and giving bugger all notice.

The benefit of the small school is teachers all know the children your child knows all the children in the school.

IF worked well it can create a wonderful close community.

My youngest 2 are in a 15 entry school (year 3 and 5) we do not have the horrible habit startail speaks of we do get notice (they go out 2-3 weeks prior sometimes longer) and they have school clubs
before school Tues and Fri
during lunch Mon Tues and Fri
after school Mon - Fri

they have no after school club but neither does the large 2 form entry school in the local town. A local play center runs a collection after school club that you can use if you wish.

Look around the schools and then pick with your gut. Your gut will know what school is the best for your child imo.

also consider which is the nearest - honestly it makes so much difference - easier with friends and you end up going there a lot - parents evenings, other event etc so personally I much prefer it near if at all possible

Thanks for all the responses so far. Have made appointments to go see them. We have looked at one (2 form entry but will expand to 3 year after my d starts) and felt slightly disappointed that although we had arranged for Head to show us round it was the secretary. She was lovely but just not what I was expecting.
Thanks again

Two of my dcs went to a very small village school in total 30 children.
One infant and one junior class.
They loved it, teachers fantastic and both gained level 3 in all sats, differentiation was second to none and because so few children hardly any fell out and if they did they were best mates next day.
Activities were good as there is so much more the teachers could do with fewer children. For example tie dying t shirts and design and tech hardly took any time so could find a wider variety of stimulating activities. If that makes sense. Then took ds1 out because he wanted more sport than the mixed team at school. We should have sent him to an out of school club because his education and well being dropped significantly as a result of moving him. He became a number wheras before he was an individual. I would say look at your dc's personalities what suits one doesn't neccessarily suit another.

I had a similar choice and looked round both schools. We chose the smaller school with mixed year group classes. We found the whole school to be like one family with children playing across the year groups and mixing with various ages.

My son is seen as an individual and not just one of 500 children. Also the eldest in each mixed year group class gets to develop leadership skills/confidence when they are with younger ones in a class. The younger ones seem to gain/learn alot by being with the older ones.

I feel that the teachers teach my child well and he is blossoming. I love the green and lush area/views. The school make great use of the woodland and the kids are often out there getting dirty and learning about nature.

I know and like an awful lot of the parents. I'm very happy for my boys to go to peoples houses on play dates as a result. The school is central to the village community with lots of community events.

I would really consider distance though. It is really nice and practical to have playdates and school friends close to home. When your child is older he might like to walk round on his own to his friends houses.

Thanks for your responses. Looking forward to visiting the smaller school in a couple of weeks.