Should I change primary schools

[Ckharvey]

Hi all. This is my first post so apologies if i waffle.

I have a son in year 4 and a daughter in year 1. Not long after my son started school we moved house to a different borough but kept him in his school as it worked for us at the time. When it came to my daughter starting , we put her in the same school. It is an outstanding school and also a research school with lots of extra curricular activities, we all love the school . However the drive takes an hour each way , but we are prepared to do it as they are so happy and are thriving there .
Downsides are obvious , earlier starts , less play dates, won’t be going to secondary school with their friends and when my son starts secondary school I’ll have two kids in schools an hour away .
We have been looking at our local primary school which is also a feeder school for the secondary school they will likely go. We went to view it and was really impressed with it also.
It’s a good school and whilst I know ofsted is definitely not everything , this is really all we have to go on to compare at the moment .
My major concern is they move and are unhappy and I’ve moved them for no reason other than to be closer to home .
Soooo I need advice do you think I should stick to their school and move them at secondary not knowing anyone - or move them now together to the ‘unknown’ to be close to home and will then meet friends to go into secondary school with.
It’s so hard to know what to do for the best

I can see how the hour journey is a pain but I think the time to move schools was when you moved house. Your DS will probably be upset to leave his friends behind now. Changing when he goes to secondary is more natural because they’ll be mixed up anyway.

I say this as a teacher and a parent. I’ve told my DH we will not be moving out of our town now that DD is in a good school.

I'd move them. Actually I think now is a good time - by Year 4 there is generally a switch around in friendships, so it should be a good time to make new ones, plus they are starting to get to the age of "playing out" and wanting to meet up with friends out of school. There will be no hope of this if all his school friends are an hour away.

If you don't move them, presumably you are stuck with another 6 years of doing this - I just think that is unsustainable.

I’d move them now. We moved hundreds of miles when son was in Y4 and he soon settled. Plus it gave him time to adapt to the school before SATs started.
Do your children have local friends who go to the nearby school?

I didn’t move at first as the local school was in special measures, there was no way I would have moved them from an outstanding school at that point
Now it’s ‘good’ , has a new head and teachers it’s improved
We spend a lot of time in the area of their current school as my parents live opposite the school and all our friends live there
To be honest we only moved this far as we were priced out of London
I’m starting to worry about secondary as we will have to send around here under new address

I also would move them now. It's something you'll have to face at some point and it will only get harder. I have two children, one in primary and one who has just started secondary school. They both go to local schools and I find it really challenging to be there for both, especially as the change from primary to secondary is so major and they need lots of support at the beginning. I don't see how I could do it if I had them in schools so far apart.

If theyre happy then i wouldnt move them. Having children not enjoying school is awful ive been in that position. Id keep them at that primary then look at closer high schools

Are there spaces at the more local school OP as that may determine how easy/difficult it could be to move them?

I never understood the obsession that people on mn have with their children moving into secondary with their friends. Friendships change quickly when they are young anyway.

I think an hour is a long way and not being able to have play dates (easily) would be a big downside. Did you like the school when you saw it? Do you see the kids playing out on parks etc near by? If you got a good vibe from the school and there are spaces i would seriously consider moving them.

I would move them. I have moved my 3 children between year 1 and year 4 for similar reasons and the outcome has been very positive once the inevitable sadness at leaving the old school has settled.
An hour getting to school can be spent in a more productive way in my opinion, if that choice is open to you.
It may take a few weeks to settle in but once play dates and parties start it becomes much easier for them and presumably if you are closer to the school they will be more able to integrate into local activities anyway?

I just moved my 2 - yr 3 & 4. I was really worried about it but they adapted amazingly and because my husband and i positioned it in a way that new school is much better, they are so lucky to get into it, the uniform is nicer etc and we drip fed them, saying we are going to look new school as their old one isn't that great etc - by the time we got their applications accepted and we broke the news to them instead of tears we got cheers!