Private Schooling in the Early Years

[ChazsBarmyArmy]

DH and I are in the middle of a major debate about schooling. DS has a reception place in prep school from Sept or in a state school from Jan.
The state school has average SAT's results, classes of 30 with a classroom assistant & teacher and approx 85% of children who speak English as a second language. DS is bilingual English / Arabic but as I am a mother tongue English speaker his English is at mother tongue standard.
The prep school has classes of around 14 with a teacher and classroom assistant. We are in a position where we can afford the fees so that is not the key consideration.
DH is of the view that there is no educational benefit to attending a private school at a young age whereas I feel that the smaller class sizes and better facilities will be an advantage from the beginning.
Both schools have a good atmosphere. Like all parents I obviously think my child is bright but realistically I suspect it is difficult to tell a child's academic potential at reception age so I would appreciate views on the advantages and disadvantages of each school for children in general.
So to summarise do you think / have you found that private education gives any real advantages in the first few years at school?

We are sending our ds to a prep school, and we had similar discussions. I was convinced that we should send him by a conversation I had with an educational psychologist friend, who said that if you are considering sending your child at a later date, he will find it a struggle to catch up with the others who have attended since reception. Another consideration is the amount of sport which is much higher in the prep shcool, he also has the chance to experience more things, both academically and socially.

"if you are considering sending your child at a later date, he will find it a struggle to catch up with the others who have attended since reception"

Sorry Jazzicatz, but I think that's far too much of a generalisation. My brothers went to private school at 9 and 11 respectively and never had any problems catching up with the others.

Well I went, and found it very difficult, and lets also be honest here, there is a massive cultural difference between private and state education - rightly or wrongly!

I think that so long as it is a good school, and do check, don't assume because you are paying it is, if you can afford private the academic benefits are outstanding. The class sizes alone speak volumes, but the other thing is also that the children will be taught. I'm not belittling the state sector, we can't afford private and ds's school is lovely ..BUT private school children sit down, listen and learn. Even in the best of state primaries in smallish classes one disruptive child can upset the whole structure of a class and prevent the others from getting on with their learning. I was educated privately from the age of 9, have taught children from 4 to 11 in the private sector and also taught children from 7 to 11 in the state sector, and ds is in yr1 now. as a parent as well as a teacher i would recommend private from an academic point of view if you can afford it - although i maintain that there's nothing that they learn in primary school that you couldn't teach them at home apart from social skills. In this respect you might want to think about who you'd like your children to mix with from an early age, as the social mix would be very different in each case, obviously your dc wouldn't be getting a broad education in terms of the people they meet at private school, but - that is a private matter and up to you.

I think it all depends on the particular ethos and expectations of the schools you are talking about, as well as the individual child's personality, interests and ability.

FWIW my (state-educated) children learnt to read significantly earlier than their (privately-educated) cousins, and are still ahead in most respects. Obviously you could argue that they would be still further ahead if they'd been taught in a more academically demanding environment, but I don't think knowing 5 more tables at the age of 8 translates into better A-level results or a more successful career.

In the end, the primary curriculum at infant level involves teaching children to read, write and do simple arithmetic, as well as the all-important non-academic stuff -- taking turns, listening when the teacher talks, persevering when you find something difficult. As a bonus, you can add in some art, some nice PE, some music and a few fun school trips and activities. Any decent school can provide that. You can do it yourself if you have a mind to.

Find a school where you like the vibe, like the head, and like the look of the children that come out at the top end of the school. The state-private thing is a red herring.

It depends a lot on the schools.

For me the main difference I find is behavioural expectations, the curriculum thoughout the primary years, at dd's private school because they don't have to folloow the National Curriculum they are free to follow a much wider curriculum with creative subjects being valued just as much as numeracy/literacy.

Also the school I chose doesn't do SATS. I find that my neice's state school has a lot more homework (they are both in reception) though again that may vary with different schools.

Dd starts swimming today in reception wheras most state schools start at yr 3. not a problem for most who can go to private swimming classes but they clash with when we work.

I do find that small classes is a HUGE benefit too.

tbh there are good and not so good schools in both sectors. Agree with islandofsodor it is the breadth of the curriculum and attention to the individual child which strikes me as important at this age, in building up confidence and sense of achievement. The school we felt most suited our children happened to be private but in doing so we have compromised on other areas (such as cultural diversity) which to another parent might be more important.

If you child turns out to be "bright" then there will be other opportunties to get him into the private system later, 7+ or 11+ are often entry points due to changes in class size, with places coming up in btween as chidlren come and go. We would have been happy for ds to do up to 7+ in our then local state infant school, and then reconsidered, but circumstances meant we were out of the area anyway.

Thanks for you comments everyone. My strong preference is for the prep school but I was getting concerned that I was overvaluing the benefits at a young age.
The prep school is a very good school with good inspection reports, strong music, drama and sports as well as good sats results. They don't assess on entry which I saw as a plus point as I really dislike the idea of assessing 3-4 yr olds.
As the school is in West London there is a more diverse school population than you might otherwise expect. Additionally, he will be going to Arabic classes when he is a bit older which will broaden his cultural perspectives further.
I would have to say that part of my logic is that if DS is academic then then the broad curriculum and small classes will suit him and if he is less academic then the smaller classes and increased attention will make sure he is not left behind and he will have more opportunity to develop in other areas like music and sport. DS is reasonably quiet and well behaved (for a 3.8yr old)and I am a bit concerned that he would be left to get on with it in a big class because he wasn't making a fuss.

I don't think you are mad at all. The early years are some of the most important years of education. The foundations of reading and writing are laid in reception.

Pick a school where your son will be happy. If your son is happy then he will learn.

Hi. I dito islandofsodor. After alot of consideration, we didn't get offered our first choice primary school we are now sending our DD to an independant school in september.

Our only problem is we live 15 miles for the school so it's alot of travelling but well worth it. There are only 16 in the class as apposed to 30+ and I have done lots of research and read reports on the school and it's very good. They also have fantastic sports facilities and do PE 3 times a week.

I have had many people make comments on our choice but personally I believe that the early years are the most important, as if they are expected to learn in the beginning, hopefully they will always have that attitude. I also agree with someone else about 7+ entry as we considered this and it just seems like too much catching up for the child.

I hope this helps an di hope you make a decision that is right for you and your child regardless of what anyone else says to you!