Firstborn starting school

[mumtimesthree]

My daughter is starting school in a week. All summer she has been getting really upset about not wanting to go to her accepted school, and saying she wants to go to a different one where all her pre-school friends will be. However, said school has a bad name to it and ofsted reports mostly require improvement and state behavioural issues are a problem as well as lack of individual student attention. So I was completely put off and of course searched for a better school which I think I have found. But upon their open day and having a home visit, I discovered their welcoming was very slack and teachers are actually a bit unfriendly. This threw me off completely but maybe I'm overworrying. I'm just hoping September proves I made the right choice. My daughter is very worried she won't make any friends. How can I help her with this also?

One thing I would do is be completely positive and encourage the process... tell her how exciting it is to start school. How, yes it will be new, but there will be new friends to make, learn new things. Show your dd the school website, walk around the school too. Be excited about getting her uniform or outfits. I would do this to help her at least 'catch your enthusiasm'. You want to project a positive vibe and not let her sense your anxiety.

If there are issues, and let's hope there aren't any, then you can sort them out as they happen.
You may have got the teachers on a bad day. See how it goes. All the best. Take pic on the first day (like I need to tell you....)

I really didn't like either of my kids' teachers initially when they started their current school last year. One was very blunt and brusque with parents and the other incredibly incredibly reserved and distant.

They've actually been absolutely fantastic - the blunt one is so bloody superb as a classroom teacher I'm flipping jealous to be honest and hasn't been able to do enough to help my littlest one who is a fairly complicated bundle of special needs, speech difficulties and other problems - to the point where anything I've suggested as a possible adaptation that might make life easier for her in class has been put into place pretty much immediately... and the very very reserved one who I thought really disliked my eldest (who can be hard going at times) actually has really understood her in a way not many other teaching staff have ever figured out and has a massive affection for the kids - I've been around the class a lot this year and by the end of the year I'm really really gutted my other child's not having her for a class teacher too!

I'll take that over the one we had for DD1's reception year who came across beautifully and lovely and chirpy to start off with and would do naff all unless put three times as a request in writing and was a terrible year for them - total front show to get the parents off her back.