A new school - is it a good idea? what are the pros/cons? Help please!

[lindsell]

A new free school is opening near us and we're likely to be in the catchment area. It is being opened by an existing 3-18 state school and supported by them. The planned start date is sept 2013 which would be ideal for DS1 who starts school then. I like the ethos of the existing school and the plans for the new school in terms of curriculum/approach etc. The school plans to open with 60 (i.e. two form entry) reception children and add 60 per year until it's a full school.

The executive head who will be in charge of all parts of the school from 3-18 (so existing primary phase, new free school & secondary school) is in place and I'm pretty impressed by what I've seen/heard from him so far. The existing school is very highly regarded, extremely oversubscribed and rated outstanding by ofsted. I expect that once established the new free school will be excellent and the sort of place I'd want for my dc.

However the first year (so when ds1 would be in reception) sounds like it will be very chaotic. There are no proper building facilities (planned for sept 2014), the children will be in various classrooms on essentially a secondary school site. There is obviously no head teacher or teachers in place as yet. DS is quite sensitive and can be shy.

My concerns are: the practicalities for the children, whether they will be able to "settle" properly, how you can assess the school properly when you can't meet the teachers etc, what effect always being the oldest in the school (up until 11) will be (i.e. not having any older role models etc), the effect of having to share facilities with the senior school (other than the pluses in respect of science/music etc) will the primary children have any sense of their school/identity/feel secure etc? Does this chaos for the first year matter that much?

Have anyone's dc been through this sort of set up? Any teachers out there who have been through this? What are the sort of things I should be looking for/considering?

Btw I don't really want a debate on whether free schools are a good idea or not I'd like to focus on the practicalities/effect on the children of a "new school" aside from any political issues.

What does the Exec Head know about EYFS? What will the environment be like? What outdoor space will the children have access to? If they have building planned, I'd have concerns about how much money they are prepared to spend on a temporary facility. How many primary experienced staff will there be? If they say 3-18 are they planning a nursery class too?

I don't know much about free schools, and there are none near me, but I do find it amazing that so many of them are opening without properly thought out buildings facilities.

I also agree with you that it will be a challenge for a year group that is always the oldest in the school - just thinking of the lovely "whole school" things that go on - sports day, assemblies, productions, concerts ...

The exec head does seem clued up on eyfs, reception children will follow that and then international primary curriculum. Outside space is an issue - the 'play' space will be quite limited I think but access to playing fields etc will be much better than most other schools in area (we're in London) because the free school will have access to the secondary school facilities. Environment does concern me especially for the first year when I think they'll be shuffled around in whatever space is available.

No nursery class for the new school (is one in the existing primary phase hence 3-18). Apparently there will be two primary teachers and a head initially and then LSA/TA and further teachers added each year.

Anyone else got any thoughts/experience?

I don't have experience, but we have put DD's name down for a new free-school that opens next year - but still has no premises. If it is close enough it will be our first choice.

I've been to meetings with the people running it, other interested parents etc and I'm very interested in what they are proposing.

If it doesn't happen then we have a decent state primary as a back-up, and if she goes and we're not happy then we would try for a later transfer.

It's always a bit of a gamble, but sounds like you are asking the right questions. Do you have a back-up option?

My ds started at a brand new free school in September.

It's slightly different to your set-up in that it isn't part of an existing school, but they are in a temporary setting for the first year and will move to the permanent building next September.

Ds has settled in surprisingly quickly. It's been less than a term but in many ways it feels as though he has been there for years as he is so comfortable there.

The school held several meetings during the summer term where the new teachers and the children could get together and meet each other before the school opened. The parents were invited too and I was very impressed with the staff, including the new Head. Meeting everyone in advance like this was a great help to ds too, and he was very excited about starting in September.

Although the current site is temporary, you wouldn't guess unless you were told. It's set up and run just as professionally and smoothly as any other school, and the staff have done everything possible to help the children to settle. There are no signs of any chaos.

There is already a strong sense of school identity, and ds is certainly very proud of his school. It's very much like a blended family.

Everyone being new to the school has turned out to be an advantage. In existing schools there is a strong sense of being "the new children" and having to fit in quickly with what the 'old' children do. At this new school, everyone is the new child or new member of staff and so there's a great deal of solidarity.

One disadvantage is that as the school is still in it's first year, there isn't the security of knowing what the school usually does as certain times of the year. On the other side of the coin, the children are involved in helping to start new school traditions, and there is a lot more flexibility in finding out what works and what doesn't.

The school is keen to keep parents informed about what is happening in school. They send out regular newsletters and hold various events for parents.

It was stressful trying to make the decision about whether or not to send ds there as it felt like such a huge gamble. It has all been worth it though.