Transfer reception school choice

[Tallulahtravels]

Hello,

My DS is due to start school in sept 2021. We live between 2 different schools (both very small village schools). My DS is a quiet, gentle boy who is lacking in confidence. He is mainly friends with girls and sometimes plays on his own. At nursery recently he has been hit - once with an object by one boy and another time in the face by another boy. Nursery have said they can’t do much and one of the boys has additional needs. My DS is down for the same school as both of these boys.

Should I switch him to the other school? Both are excellent. The one he is down for is a bit more keeping up with the Jones’s in terms of parents. I don’t know if it’s overkill to switch schools and I wouldn’t have thought about it if there wasnt the alternative of the other school. He’s already saying he doesn’t want to go there as the boys are mean to him. Presumably school will be better at dealing with this stuff?

I switched my youngest before she was due to start reception - not for the same reasons as you, but as we were increasingly concerned about the school experience her elder sibling was having and I was realising that the school were not likely to be very cooperative supporting DD2's SEN. Moved them both and the choice was definitely right for my kids.

I wouldn't switch schools because of another child in a scenario such as the one you have described.

Maybe switch nurseries as they weren't very effective at dealing with what happened! Young children do hit sometimes when they don't understand concepts like sharing. It does happen, it's how the setting deals with it that matters.

You could go to the other school and there are twenty four children he doesn't want to be with. No school is full of gentle children.

I guess the main question is whether the other school has spaces?

Switching nurseries is a bit tricky as it’s a ‘feeder nursery’ for both schools so all the children go there that he will be at school with. Do you think it would put him ‘behind’ in terms of friendships if he wasn’t mixing with the others? The boy in question is very impulsive and extremely physical. I just think they need a close eye on him and maybe some boundaries but it’s very softly softly kind hands, which doesn’t appear to be working.

The other school has space - I rang to check. Would mean getting in the car for a short drive as opposed to being able to walk 2 mins away. Both have intakes of approx 15 children per year.

Pretty much all reception classes will have a child or children like this, so no benefit. The teachers will be much more onto it with either discipline or identifying additional needs.

Do you think it would put him ‘behind’ in terms of friendships if he wasn’t mixing with the others?
No, I think he will just make new friends when he starts school. But I don't think it's the right decision to remove him completely fr that's what you mean as presumably he is enjoying it. Nor do I think it's sensible to go to a further away primary school to avoid a four year old.