Local or better primary school?

[mama1987]

DS will be starting primary school next year so will be applying at the end of this year. Just after people’s experiences as we are in a bit of a dilemma as to which school to send him to - the good local one or the outstanding one a 10 minute drive away? Looking at catchment trends it seems likely he would be accepted at either, as the outstanding one is bigger school to bigger intake. The local one is a 15 to 20 minute walk away, but one I would most likely drive to anyway as would be driving to work straight after. The outstanding one has a good reputation, have spoken to lots of parents and they speak highly of it. However I do worry about traffic and DS not having local friends, although it’s only 2 miles away (1.2 miles on straight line distance). What are people’s experiences please? Grateful for any advice and things I need to consider!

I chose the one I’d need to drive to where he knew no one and haven’t forgot one second regretted it. As soon as I walked in and looked around I knew. It was where I wanted him to be.

We went local. They thrived and their friends are nearby and they can have the independence of walking to school. I will say that we did it with the caveat that we would move them if we weren't happy. We're doing the same with secondary and so far going well.

When they are older, you drive part of the way and drop off so they walk a bit with friends. Lots of schools organise walking crocodiles and you just drive to where it starts. There’s a way around the walking to school issue!

Another thought has occurred to me with regards to having friends over for tea - as I would need to drive DS home from the further away school we wouldn’t be able to have any of his friends over due to the car seat issue. What do people do in these instances, besides relying on the parents of the child to drop him/her off? Doesn’t really seem fair.

You keep a spare car seat.

If you can hold back till you can go around them. We have an outstanding primary literally on our door step - when i went around it I didn’t feel anything good for my daughter. The ‘good’ school a 10 min drive away was the better choice!

The parent can meet you with their car seat on that day. Parent drives dc over to you and picks up. Most people will be flexible because they do want their dc to have friends. Unless they all know each other before school! That can be difficult to crack!

save yourself all the stress and go for the local school. Drops offs easier, local friends and a recent good ofsted is fine.

I thought we’d choose the outstanding school a little further away, but after visiting we much preferred the walkable good school. And we’ve never regretted it, the school have been amazing with him. It’s lovely being close enough to walk, and it’s really nice gloving to the nearby park at weekends and early always bumping into one or two of his classmates.

It really depends on the schools. In my gut I knew I preferred this school. There was a real focus on pastoral care and welfare of the kids, and this has really shown itself through lockdown.

I also hold OFSTED in very low regard so tend to not pay attention to the reports.

I hold Ofsted in pretty high regard. It’s a shame people do not understand why they visit. Look at the government data. If you see a lot of red zones or well below average attainment and progress, would you not expect Ofsted to visit and see why this was happening? You really would if your child was bright but not making much progress.

They look at quality of teaching over time. They do give a clear steer on how a school needs to improve. They monitor progress towards goals. A “good” school can be reliably good. “Outstanding” from 10 years ago is definitely useless. Anything in the last 2-3 years is worth reading and look for signs of what the inspectors found if you can visit (ever!). Look for improvements too. You do get a “feel” for schools but Ofsted are experts so it’s a piece of the jigsaw puzzle that’s worth considering.

My kids went to the good primary 5 minutes walk from home - small village school . Overall I’m happy with that choice in place of the larger outstanding schools further away . In retrospect though both my kids are a bit quirky and might have benefitted from a larger choice of friendship groups .

It will become normal driving a friend about - most people had a spare booster in my day though these days it’d be a proper seat

Well the outstanding school is coming up to 10 years since last inspection, but have spoken to several parents who send their kids there and all are more than happy. It offers the most convenience for wraparound care (local school doesn’t do after school clubs at all which I find a bit odd). I’m also considering another consistently rated good school a couple of miles away which isn’t oversubscribed (presumably because the outstanding one is very close), however it’s quite large with over 550 pupils. Another thread really I suppose but are there downsides to such a large school? Besides the parking hassle.

There are plus points and a few minus points for a large school. Mine went to 3 classes per year - 90 - but split into an infant and junior school with two heads. So the same number of DC but different ethos in each school. If a large school has poor leadership (one head) you cannot escape it. On the plus side, they usually have a lot going on, music, drama, sport and DC usually find there is something to do. I think there are significantly more downsides in a tiny school. You really are stuck with one or two teachers. In larger schools they might team teach and you get a broader range of strengths in the teaching staff. The move to secondary can be fairly easy from a large school. If the school has a great head and is consistently "good" that is definitely worth looking at. I think you just have to see if this school offers what you want.

No after-school clubs would bother me. That seems like a lot of effort is going into the academics but not so much into a broader education. Or no-one will run the clubs! Where my DC went to school, parents ran clubs. They were fantastic.

Regarding parking - do not expect to park at the school. Park further away and walk the last bit! You get to meet mums doing the same.

I say no clubs, what I should have said is there isn’t after school childcare. Three days a week they do extra curricular stuff - choir etc. But that’s only until 4.30 and I wouldn’t be able to pick up until 5. So would need a childminder. Every other school does wraparound care and as a full time working mum that’s important to me.

Thanks for your input PresentingPercy, it’s given me food for thought.

Ah. That’s not so bad on the enrichment front but annoying regarding after school care. They probably won’t guarantee club participation either. I do know lots had child minders when my DDs were at school. No state school had after school care at school! Only private schools. Luckily times have changed.

10 years since the last OFSTED? Then with respect it's basically meaningless. There's been a whole new framework since then.

No after school care is normal round here. We can get breakfast club (starts at 8am) and sport/art/music clubs. But not after school care.

The only place I know that offers after school care finishes at 5.30 (and pick up later than 5pm raises eyebrows) and won't offer food.

So I would check what is included in any after school care as well as how reliable it is. What time will you be collecting and will they need feeding before then?

I personally wouldn't want my kids at school 8am to 6pm anyway. Much happier with other after school provision. That includes holidays too, which schools certainly don't.

Women working full time frequently have 8-6 care. But it’s unusual at a state school. Most use child minders.,

@PresentingPercy

Women working full time frequently have 8-6 care. But it’s unusual at a state school. Most use child minders.,

Not just women...

The reasons we don't have after school care (school was asked):

Would mean children limited to hall or the preschool covered play area (after school cleaning, sufficient staff to monitor more outdoor space)
Couldn't guarantee every day as minimum uptake required to be viable
No food provision

So sat at desks inside, colouring, waiting to be collected. Or playing with preschool outdoor toys in year 6. Wasn't for us so we didn't push to get it established.

I guess just don't take the after school care provision at face value. Ask what hours and days they offer, numbers who use it, what the kids do regardless of weather, who staffs it and if they can eat (my primary age kids would have struggled waiting to 6.30 for tea, which a 6pm pick up would mean).

School childcare is different to childminder. I don't mean worse, just check what it is.

No just women. However often women!

Many schools don’t operate after school clubs themselves. They are contacts and other people run them. It’s up to them to rent the school space and make it work. Sometimes DC decamp to a nearby hall. It says a lot about a head that thinks about families - not cleaning.

I would be collecting at 5. It hopefully wouldn’t be everyday, just depends on the flexibility of my boss as to whether I could finish early on some days to pick up. Would just be nice to have the option of wraparound care if and when required.