Would you change schools in this situation?

[thirtysomething]

DD (age 6, Y1) is at infants - the same one that ds went to (now Y4 at juniors). We were very pleased with the school when ds was there and he definitely achieved his academic potential. However dd is in a very difficult class. Her teacher is lovely and from what I've seen very capable, but it's just that the composition of the class is awful. There's a large group (mostly boys) who are totally out of control. I suspect some have behavioural issues. The teacher devotes a great deal of time and energy getting these children to behave, and a lot of thought goes into reward schemes to encourage these kids to behave (reward schemes for which the always well-behaved kids are usually overlooked). The result is that very little is actually achieved and dd seems to be making little progress with reading, writing etc. Obviously she has progressed a bit but she's pretty sharp and very keen and I know that with the right environment she'd have come on in leaps and bounds. The class sizes are all large in her school and she will stay with these children for at least another year. So my question is do we leave her in this school, where she is basically happy but not making much progress, or should we move her to another, possibly private school? Sorry this is so long!

it's a difficult situation, to be sure. Its hard to know whether uprooting your child is worse than short changing thm on the education front. One thing i would be aware of is "grass is greener" syndrome. What is to say she won't encounter problems in another school. I would do some research into other options and maybe think about finding something for her to get her teeth into outside of school if she doesn't feel she is being challenged.

We were in exactly the same situation and moved dd. We couldn't afford private but moved her to a school in the next village where the school was 'outstanding'. (ofsted classification). We have been delighted with our choice and dd has flourished.
Thing is, it might be for only 2 years but it is a critical two years. It's the learning to read and brain like a sponge years. I would think seriously about moving. Although having children in different schools would present its' own headaches so weight that up as well.

Had similar issues and we now home educate.

We moved one of our children from a class with a violent (not naughty, actually violent) pair of boys. The new school had it's own mix of personalities but no out-right dangerous and unaddressed antisocial issues. We never regretted making the move.

yes I would def move - with ds1 we had a similar situation and now he is 11 we regret not moving he has gone through school in a class of fairly disruptive pupils nd this seems to distract from the others. We worried about uprooting him but on reflection it would have been better to move him

These decisions are so difficult to make, aren't they? Thing is you just don't know what the new class and teacher are going to be like and whether you will encounter similar or even worse problems there.

I would do some in-depth research on the other local schools.
Would you be able to get two children to two different schools on time everyday?
Have you spoken to DD's teacher about your concerns?

thanks for all your input - will seriously look into different schools. I have raised the issues with the teacher but she insists that dd's making good progress (she's making some but we think not enough given her readiness to learn) and that the behavioural issues are under control. I know they aren't as I see what goes on when I go on trips with them etc. The school is very bad at accepting any sort of criticism as overall it's a good school and got a good OFSTED report, but then it's a very affluent area and a lot of parents are teachers themselves who give their kids extra help, and the sats results are above average. There is friction between the head (who I don't trust) and the teacher (who is genuinely very nice) so i don't want to involve the head as it'll rebound on the teacher. There is no possibility of moving classes either - noone ever manages to achieve this, it's the school's policy! The thing is the attached Junior school is excellent so I know it's just the next 18 months we have to think about!

for 18 months i wouldn't move her. It will take her a while to settle in somewhere else and by then it will be time for juniors.
Can't you just do as much as possible at home with her?
Does the teacher change next year?

i would also say that on school trips you see the worst in the worst children and the best in the best - so you are probably seeing extremes too. (i'm not saying there isn't a problem in the classroom, just it might not be quite as bad as you are imagining)

we had the same situation with my DD in a mostly male class (22 boys in a class of 31)
we didnt move her but had lots of lovely "learning" experiences at home.

I did think of moving her but didnt due to me really liking the school and her sibling was already settling well there.

I think that she would be fine with a move, especially if she is going from a class with a lot of disruptive pupils to a calmer one. The good news about the fact that she is in Year one is that you will actually be able to observe the class that she would be with in a new school. And in private schools she would most probably be invited to spend a day there, so you can guage her reaction.

thanks for all your input - I know what you mean about school trips but it's also observations from mums who help out in the classroom and things dd tells me that really shock me! She will change teachers next year (if this follows the same pattern as in previous years though the teacher she will get is less dedicated than this year's teacher!) and the classes will probably be mixed up at the end of year 2 or year 3, so she won't be with the same kids until year 6. I think what I might do is try and get a bit of outside help (i'e' a tutor) as this would be less drastic than changing schools and would help to see where she needs to improve and where the school is failing her. My gut instinct is that if we move her we'll be putting academic progress over happiness as she really does like this school overall, especially as she gets to spend most of her days just colouring and playing!