Stay or move? Reception waiting list.....

[Starsintheirpies]

DS started Reception this year. The school seems good, he’s generally settled in well. It’s a Catholic school and we aren’t Catholic, but staff seem nice and it was the best school we could manage at the time (our catchment one is not somewhere we wanted him to go to).

But one that we went on the waiting list for when we were applying and didn’t get into has rung to say a place has come up. It seemed absolutely perfect when we went round it, the children seemed happy and polite. Incredible facilities, lots of outside play space for Reception.

Do we move him or keep him at the one he’s at? We’ve got a 1yo DD too so if we moved she’d be more likely to get in there too....argh.

Is either more convenient?

At this point I would put him in the school you think is the best match for him/your family in general. He'll quickly settle in the new school if you move him.

Both equally convenient...15 min drive from the house. I don’t want to disrupt him and make him unsettled but at this early stage it might not be too bad. He was 3rd on their waiting list and we never thought he’d get in

Move him if you still like the school.

Go and view it again to make certain it's the school for you then move him. We got a place at our 1st choice school at Oct half term, our child settled brilliantly. We're a year on and I forget she originally went somewhere else.

What are the reasons you put him on the waiting list?

This early, I wouldn’t hesitate to move him if the school was a better fit.

Personally, as a non catholic, I wouldn’t want a catholic education for my child.

Get him out of the Catholic school. My COE school turns into a fucking nightmare at Easter, the Catholics must be just horrific

Obviously it's not up to a 4 year old but what does he think? Does he like the current school, happy, made friends? If so then I don't see the merit in moving him.
I moved my dd at a similar stage, it was due to a house move, long story but she could have stayed where she was. But...we didn't like the school, didn't feel it was right, she hadn't settled particularly well or made any friends, and a place came up at a school we felt would suit her better. She was much happier straight away and slotted in as they were all still so new she wasn't the 'new kid.' So from that respect if you're going to move him do it sooner rather than later.

Soup we rang admissions when he’d been offered a place at the catchment school (we’d been warned off it by others, did not like it when we visited) and were added to the list then. I emailed the fabulous school asking if it was likely that there’d be any movement on the waiting list and was told it was extremely unlikely.

In the meantime we found the Catholic school, and accepted a place there instead of the catchment one.

What are the families like at the new school? Have you been able to ask if they are happy with the school? We switched our daughter after Xmas during reception, even though she was super happy and settled in her school (she had gone to nursery there as well). It was such a difficult decision as I was so worried moving her when she was so happy. However, my dd is used to being in different environments and change. She had been in different nurseries from when she was 13 months. The school we were transferring her to was much closer to us and Also a bilingual school. The pros outweighed the cons. She settled in well and made loads of friends. But I also knew a few of the parents at the school before she moved. So I was able to set up play dates and get up to speed with how the school worked fast.

I’ve tried to casually ask my son and he said he’d like to stay at the school he’s at. I think because it’s not terrible it’s a harder choice than if it was!

mamabear I’m not familiar with any of the families at the possible new school. We’re relatively new to the area, I heard about it from another mum I got talking to in the park and then we were impressed on our visit - we don’t know anyone that’s been/goes there.

Clare I think it would be fine, the last few years it’s been undersubscribed, including this year, which is why we were easily able to get a place. But nothing is certain I guess.

We’ve decided to go ahead with the move, and he should be starting at the new school hopefully next week. Thanks for all your input!

Hope it all goes smoothly!

Good luck with the school!!

One of my friends moved her little boy to my daughter's school about 10 days ago. She's so happy with the decision and her son has settled in already.

I'm glad you've decided to make the move. You have to go with the school you love the most, you'll always wonder 'what if...' if you don't.

Look higher up the school too and see if you like what goes on there. Some schools have a lovely ethos in EYFS but may be radically different as the child moves up the school. This is important to think about too.

Moving him won’t be a problem at this stage though.