Wanting to change primary already

[Woody55]

Hi, I have two children who have just started primary school and the school so far I'm less that impressed .
Due to Covid I hadn't been able to look at any of them so went in slightly not knowing much other than watching vids .
I have upset that I have made a wrong choice , so far a couple of thing have happened with parents and teachers that have left me feeling so worried.

My local council has said for me to contact schools direct and see what waiting lists are like...

I know in my gut I have to move them . Prob is I need two spaces ...

Anyone been in this postion before ?

so far a couple of thing have happened with parents and teachers that have left me feeling so worried.

You say they've only just started, how long have they been attending, and what has happened to make you worried?

Depending on the age of the children, class size rules may be difficult to find places in another school. Your council is right that they may have to join waiting lists, and depending on the schools you could be waiting a while for places to become available.

I think we are going to see alot of movement because people weren't allowed in for viewings and just had to base school choices on a video.
The same will be happening for secondary schools too.

Do you mean twins in the same year or two kids in different years?

What's happened and how sure are you you know the dull story?

Which part of the UK are you in?

What kind of things have happened? Is this your first experience of school - perhaps some of what you are concerned about is actually normal in a school setting?

@Tulips00998124

I think we are going to see alot of movement because people weren't allowed in for viewings and just had to base school choices on a video. The same will be happening for secondary schools too.

I was just having this conversation with a friend. She works in a school and they have already had more enquiries than at this point in previous years.

Check the waiting list situation at the schools you think you’d prefer but (as others have said) be aware that, for schools in England where infant class sizes rules apply, they won’t offer you a place until such time as they have a vacancy. For a popular school, that could be a long time.

We opted for a school that let us look round during half term of October 2020 in small groups. That spoke volumes to us.
There were very well renowned schools in the area DD could have gone to. They just posted a poor quality video up....

It’s only been a couple days, give it a little longer unless it’s something that’s a major red flag such a bullying or a lack of care/safety. Chances are, all good other schools in your area will be full (or at least, they are in my area) & you’ll need to go on wait lists. So your kids need to keep going to school in the meantime. Try to remain positive & not show your concern to your children. That is no good for them at all. Are they seemingly happy so far?

What’s the ofsted like? Not the be all & end all but a guide.

It’s a shame some schools didn’t allow parents in. We visited 5 schools in our area (we were moving house & wanted to check them all out) & we were allowed in them all. After school with no kids there but it helped massively.

what has happened that has made you so worried that you need a new school

I'm not sure quite what can have happened in such a short period for you to make a judgement so quickly. Every school will have certain things you are not keen on but you need to look at the overall picture. If you are looking for 2 places in the same year I.e twins that will be very difficult especially to get them to start at the same time.

I’m in exactly the same position and feel I made a big mistake in my choice of school. I was awake most of last night thinking about it.

Don't start making flip decisions at this stage. I remember sitting with a friend who'd moved her dc and a week in was thinking she'd never fit in and the children were going to be so miserable and she'd ruined their lives.

Within half a term she realised it was the right decision for her and her children, and the school was a better fit for them than the one they'd moved from.
She was seriously considering moving them back and taking a 45 minute commute each way, for the next 5 years.

I agree give it time. There was one parent in dc1's who was considering moving his dc because unlike nursery, he wasn't getting a blow-by-blow account of his dc's day.