Comparing two primary schools help!

[Batmanandrobin123]

Ok I'm choosing between 2 schools for DS for next September, please help me decide!

School A - middle class catchment area, religious (we are not), above average results but not as good as school B. Very convenient location (250m away), great breakfast club provision, lovely grounds, but feels a bit too serious, headteacher didn't talk much about the kids, not much diversity, only 1 TA per class, sometimes none. Really patronising handout given at the end.

School b - more disadvantaged area, more diversity, really friendly teachers, really friendly approachable head, relaxed teaching style (years R, 1 and 2 dont sit at desks in the traditional style), better results than school A, 2 TAs per class BUT less convenient (short drive or long walk), not great breakfast and after school provision, not great grounds (no proper school field) although they do still go to green areas and have access to them.

Help!!! My heart says B but my head says A

[woogal]

As someone who send their child to a version of your school A choose school B.

I chose A and at first it was fine but as we got further into the year he struggled more and more.

We finally moved to a different area and got him into a school Like your school B. He is thriving in a play to learn environment. I thought he may have struggled with that because he's not being challenged, but he is and he is thriving. I wish I had sent him there originally. He's had to go through the upheaval of moving schools and he's settling in although still feels "new" a few months in.

Go with your heart.

I have a sensitive child, I know just how much the school environment is important to their wellbeing. School B sounds like a better fit for your son.

[Humpdayruminations]

A. The more challenging intake of B only works now because of great leadership. What happens when the head leaves? A more challenging group without good solid leadership will turn disastrous in a heart beat. Start at A and if you really don't like it move to B as they sound like they will have places.

[Spied]

A.
The R-yr2 set up in B wouldn't have helped my DS at all. He needs structure and a more 'formal' setting I believe.
I'd also be thinking of more local peers/friends and the logistics.
Good breakfast club and after school provision too.

[capsule]

If you need to use the before and after school provision then go for school A. Your child will probably enjoy either school. It will be so much easier to walk to school.

[whiteroseredrose]

Good luck with your choice OP.

FWIW our DD had a choice of two schools for secondary. She chose the more formal one (I preferred the other) and has loved it.

[Batmanandrobin123]

@whiteroseredrose we have booked in to go and see A again next week. I think we are leaning towards A slightly.
I like the idea of him being able to walk home easily with his friends that will be on the same road etc, especially as I'll have a baby too.
Plus like you said, he might actually prefer more formal learning style, I know I did as a child. I hated feeling lost or not knowing what I was meant to be doing, I was quite bookish.
All your tips have been super helpful.

[whiteroseredrose]

I'd go for school A. It's close by so friends will be a walk not a drive away. Easy to meet up at local parks after school and great for walking home together later on.

It also depends on your child but neither of my DC would have liked the set up you've described in infants. Both like structure.

Finally it sounds like school B has been pulled up by a super head. If he/she leaves to support another failing school then the positive culture may trickle away. (This was described on a TV programme by John Humphries a few years ago).

[Batmanandrobin123]

@Cloudsandrainbows we took DS to see B, he liked it there and didn't want to leave but i think that was just because he was enjoying playing with the toys they had.
The school on our road was graded outstanding 9 years ago!! I can't believe Ofsted haven't reviewed a school for 9 years!
School B has had 3 inspections since then and went from satisfactory in 2012 to outstanding just last month.
I do have a slight concern about the area of B. It is more deprived and there is more social disturbance round there. I once drive down a road there and came across about 30 kids in 2 gangs attacking each other with baseball bats for example. These were teenagers so not at the school but it was in the road adjacent to the school. I'm not a snob by any means and actually want DS to mix with all backgrounds but equally I want him to be safe. It is such a hard call!!

[Cloudsandrainbows]

A school currently considered excellent only has one place to go.....downhill. A school striving to achieve excellent is only going to get better. Have you taken your DS to see any of them? I took my daughter to a couple as had no childcare, but glad I did. I saw how one school 'fit' her much better than the other. I went with heart over head and now have to drive to school, despite having an Ofsted outstanding school on my doorstep, but I make the right choice. I always thought I'd go with the local school a it was 'outstanding' but that was 4 years ago it got that rating and it just wasn't for us when I went to see it

[Judemahmoodid]

I’d go with A.

[happytoday73]

Yes, When young mine found a Childminder after school better, now nearly finished with juniors prefer after school Club. But in infants they found it slightly overwhelming!

I had a similar choice years ago... I picked the further away school as it was caring, had a great sense of community, wasn't academically over pushy and I knew my children would be happy there.

I've never regretted heart over head for primary choice

[Batmanandrobin123]

@happytoday73 good point about them feeding the kids. Maybe it would actually be nicer for him to go home to a CM rather than be stuck at school till 6 which is when we can pick him up (only 3 days a week).

[Batmanandrobin123]

*now not not

[Batmanandrobin123]

@bonnesvacances - I have spoken to one parent with a child in R at B. Her son went to the same CM as we do.
She chose B over A and loves B. She does live closer to B though and her DS used the preschool there so it was an obvious choice but she had very similar feelings to me. She said it just had a nice feel to the place.
The only views I have heard of A were from children who have now left but loved it too. The school was far more popular 8 years ago than it is now under the old head it seems. I need to find some parents that have kids there not really!

[happytoday73]

Sorry final post... Ask school about childminders..they may have a list... . Also sometimes the TA do around the school day.

[happytoday73]

We use a Childminder after school 2 day as well...she feeds them... . It means they are fed when I pick them up so can take them to swimming and other after school things without having to run around. It also allows me space to do a food shop in peace and work later one day.

[Absoluteunit]

B without question

[Starlight456]

Can I also add . While school wrap around can be useful a cm May well take your children on inset days or holidays .

[Batmanandrobin123]

Sorry feb 2021!

[Batmanandrobin123]

@snuggybuggy - no we would have to get a childminder. I will need a childminder anyway as we have a baby due in Feb who will need a CM from Feb 2020. I was thinking of finding one that can take the baby and do drop off/pick up, but finding a good CM that has 2 spaces is another thing to worry about!
DS's current CM is amazing but is moving away by then and she didnt do school pick ups drop offs anyway as she found it disruptive.

[AnotherEmma]

I'm very surprised about the number of people who have said A, tbh.

My main priority is my son's wellbeing and that's why I'd choose school B without hesitation. It sounds as if he'd be happier there.

[BonnesVacances]

Can you find some parents at both schools to speak to? Our local secondary school is lauded and houses in the catchment attract a high premium. But no parent I speak to has a good word to say about it. It might have excellent results and be top of the county league tables, but pastoral care is woeful, students move schools due to unaddressed bullying, and the behaviour policy swings from non-existent to punitive but ineffective.

Also be careful about choosing based on something that can change. The wraparound care can change at any time as the cohort and needs change. I doubt it's being run as a charity. Leadership changes but it takes a while for that to change the ethos of the school. Obviously location can't change.

[happytoday73]

School B as you know it's the better school for your child. Find a Childminder that exclusively drops off there that you can drop off at 7.30 for. Wrap around care sorted.
You will likely need to book Childminder now as spaces for under 5s are harder to get (as many only take full time)

[SnuggyBuggy]

If there is a waiting list for the wrap around school club you might not get a place, is this something you could cope with practically?

[Batmanandrobin123]

@sittingonthefloor that's an interesting point thanks. DS is definitely bright, it's hard to tell at the moment how academic he will be as he is a typical stubborn 3 year old and refuses to listen about how to hold his pen etc but by age 6 he might enjoy something more settled and structured (I probably did as a child). I did find the chaos a bit much and he might too. I might have just fallen for the whole 'new approach to learning' thing.
School B does have an amazing feel to it though, I think its because the head has brought its results from below average to well above average (and ofsted satisfactory to outstanding) in 6 years and she glows with enthusiasm and so do the teachers, some or which have been there for 15-18 years.
Also DS is very sensitive and quite reserved so the lovely teachers and good pastoral care and 'cozy feel' was somewhere I could imagine him settling.

In terms of wrap around care, school B does have wrap around care but it starts at 8 which would mean I had to change my work hours slightly or use a CM and you have to book for the whole year as it is so oversubscribed. School A starts at 7.30 and you can just book a couple of days before which is ideal for me as DH has weeks of no work or working from home where he can do pick up and drop off.

@dilkhush good point about having friends on the same road and community etc. I think the vast majority of kids in the catchment of school A would choose it.
I do also have a bit of an concern that school A will be full of wealthy kids as there are lots of million pound + houses in the catchment, whereas we are in a little flat, whereas school B is the total opposite and a real mixed bag of children. That could he a silly thing to worry about though.
Thanks for all your tips it's so so helpful to talk it through.