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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Would you move your DC at year 6 to a new school?

25 replies

Noangelbuthavingfun · 05/09/2020 17:55

Need some advice please- and experiences good and bad! DS is 10 and in a lovely village primary school. Been there since reception.
He has SEN (mild - ADD and mild dyslexia) but not enough for EHCP. But he is still behind and can see it is slightly affecting his self esteem.
We found a private school 20mins from home that caters for his needs and a good family environment .
I would like him to build confidence up, close some gaps and set a good foundation for senior school.
Do I move him in year 6 or is that madness ? He has a great friendship circle, doesn't want to move due to that and we have no other issues apart from school struggling to keep up with SEN support promises.

If you have moved your child in this year group are you regretting it or happy yoi did ? If you would not move a child - why not ? Help me decide please !!

OP posts:

Orchidflower1 · 05/09/2020 17:58

No I wouldn’t. I think with all the time they’ve had out of school and could still miss due to Covid I’d stay put.

Tbh I’d stay put even without Covid.

But I would invest in a tutor either virtual or actual. Not a centre such as kumon but a personalised and recommended tutor.

autumnboys · 05/09/2020 17:59

Would he stay at the private school for year 7 or go back to mainstream state school? That would slightly change my answer. I wouldn’t take him out of his friendship group for a year if he’s got to try and get back in again next year.

Could you arrange catch up private tuition instead?

minipie · 05/09/2020 18:01

No I wouldn’t, if he has a great friendship group, is happy and if you don’t need to move to help with secondary entry. He’d find it hard to make new friendships quick enough in the new school and friendships are so important at this age.

I would use the money for a tutor with relevant experience to close the gaps instead.

TW2013 · 05/09/2020 18:03

We have decided against moving ds (I think) as he is happy at school although it is much further. Much of yr6 is around transition/ saying goodbye/ finishing that I think it would be hard to do that as a new child. Plus there is the problem of making new friends to then have to leave and make more new friends. Unless you might leave him there for secondary I would probably not move him if he is happy.

Could you channel some of the money into a specialist tutor over the next few years?

Original poster

Noangelbuthavingfun · 05/09/2020 18:15

Wow so far everyone saying stay put... this school will go up to GCSE level and I thought if he settles in well then we could keep him there as he would not need to pass tests to get entry to year 7.
So hard to decide what's best . Agree we thought if looking into tutors ....

OP posts:

TW2013 · 05/09/2020 18:19

It is different if going through to 16 and you are confident it will be better than the local secondary provision.

Original poster

Noangelbuthavingfun · 05/09/2020 18:57

Autumnboys it depends on if he is happy and settled. There is provision to stay on yo senior school. If for whatever reason it doesn't work out he could come back to local secondary where all his friends that are in current primary will be going. I guess my thought was let's try a change now with the option to still go to local secondary if need be.....

OP posts:

Orchidflower1 · 05/09/2020 19:42

Op would the new school be through to y11 then? In which case that’s VERY different and people would differ with their responses.

IcanandIwill · 05/09/2020 19:44

If it means staying for secondary I would , yes.

sunshineandshowers40 · 05/09/2020 19:50

Can you not move him at the end of Y6 (when all children will be leaving)? Especially as it goes all the way through? A good friendship good can be so important.

Underhiseye2 · 05/09/2020 21:19

Do they have a big intake at Y7, if so i'd want my child to be a part of that rather than doing it on their own in Y6. Plus all the leavers rights you get with Y6 they will miss out on, esp as it sounds like he has good friendship group. Y6 at the private school might be stressy if lots of kids are studying for and sitting entrance exams?

Shieldingending · 05/09/2020 21:28

If he will stay for secondary I'd move him now, then when other join in y7 he already has friends and would hopefully find that transition easier

TW2013 · 05/09/2020 22:59

If he moves now at least he will avoid all the SATs stress which following lockdown could be worse than ever this year.

TW2013 · 05/09/2020 23:02

Do though bear in mind that there might be some coming and going with the transition to secondary in the state sector so some new friends might leave and classes might be rejigged. Might be worth asking that specific school how many tend to leave and how many new yr7 join.

MumsGoneToIceland · 06/09/2020 07:31

Bear in mind that you need to apply for secondary in October so not sure how that would work with trying out independent and then moving back to Secondary if doesn’t work out.

Crockof · 06/09/2020 07:36

Sorry, what exactly is your plan, what age does your state senior start, will all his current friends go to same secondary and how big is it?

KihoBebiluPute · 06/09/2020 07:40

we considered this for ours. in our situation which was pre-covid the issue was to avoid the state school stress about SATs which I knew would dominate y6 and would be utterly dull for DS who had been bored out of his brains since y4 (by which time he had mastered most of the y6 curriculum). in our case unfortunately the age4-18 private school which was our first choice didn't have a vacancy in y6 (year groups double in size for y7 on) so we kept him where he was. we briefly considered y6 at a different private school but moving school twice in 2 years wouldn't have been good.

if you are sure this school is the right place for your child for year 7 to year 11 then I would say yes move him for year 6 too.

PipaJJ · 16/09/2020 10:31

100% yes !
The best school is one that will give your child confidence and one where he will feel supported and happy.
Mild dyslexia - needs to be supported especially early on. Many schools are non selective and are much better with smaller class sizes and better support.
Good Luck.

StealthPolarBear · 16/09/2020 10:37

Op we did exactly that and moved ds in January of year 6 to a private school that wnrt to gcse
We decided no Sats was a good thing and allowing him to settle in before more is expected of them in year seven. Plus there's usually an influx of new children in y7 so by then he wasn't one of the new ones (although looking back that didn't matter as much).
If I had the same choice I'd do it again. Dd was in y3 and moved with him.

GreyishDays · 16/09/2020 10:41

We did that. Yr 6 was rocky but now she’s in the senior school it’s been a much easier transition than if she was new. How many new people do they get at senior school? Ours was 25 added to 100 so it’s tough for the new ones.

StealthPolarBear · 16/09/2020 10:42

I found kids joined and left pretty much every term so the "new boy" thing was less of an issue than id thought. Suppose it depends on area.
I was amazed at how quickly he did settle in, and he still sees his old friends regularly.

hotdog74 · 16/09/2020 13:11

I would move now if the SEN could make entrance exams tricky but as a back up also apply for a state senior place as usual before October. Then if it works out he is already settled for the senior school, and if not he can go to the same senior school his friends will be attending. You need to sell it to him though so he is on board, and also facilitate keeping friendships going in existing school. If he ultimately returns to state seniors, he will have had the benefit of a year where you say the teaching is better for his particular needs.

cansu · 21/09/2020 22:27

Private schools and support for SEN do not generally go hand in hand. Be sure he will get the support he needs before moving. What are you expecting them to do there?

KihoBebiluPute · 21/09/2020 23:07

it very much depends on the school @cansu - some will pride themselves on their nurturing environment and individual attention that they can offer. not all private schools are hot houses

BluebellsGreenbells · 21/09/2020 23:20

DD moves in year 6 and it was the best move for her. Made new friends extremely quickly and was a lot happier all round.

Old and new school both fed into high school so she went with two sets of friends.

All good would do it again in a heart beat.

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