Impact of moving schools in reception

[ZebraKid71]

Hi
Has anyone had any experience of moving their children to a new primary school in reception/year 1? I was quite poorly when we did my ds's primary school application and chose primarily for practical reasons as I didn't have the capacity to think it through very much. In a nutshell, I regret it. My ds isn't unhappy at school but isn't overly happy there either. It's a huge school and I feel they just don't know him (or any of the other kids well), there are a lot of children with interventions that make it impossible for teachers to focus on teaching to the class as they should (I was told this at parents evening)and I really want to move him to another school. It is still fairly local but half the size, has better results and a much broader way of approaching the curriculum. My main concern is how this will affect my son. I know there are so many variables and it is impossible to tell, but I just wanted to see how it had gone for others. Plus how you'd approach it with your child given that there is no need as such for him to move.

I'm driving myself nuts looking at the pros and cons so any experience or advice would be appreciated. TIA.

DS moved after a term in reception. It was seamless, he made great friends and settled in immediately.

Yes, I did. And I'm a primary school teacher. The school had a new head and a load of teachers went with her.

Anyway, my dd just took it completely in her stride. I think she was used to things finishing and then going to a different activity. Like she did football for a while then she stopped and she did gymnastics.

Do they have a space? As a child, I moved for the start of year 1 due to a house move. For me it was just a new adventure.

Somehing to mention though is:

• School sizes - whilst it seems big and impersonal now, bigger schools often have benefits in terms of funding, extra- curriculars, larger pool for friendships as they grow, opportunities for grouping across the year.
• Interventions - this could be a positive they have spotted who needs help and starting early. Also it may sort itself out more in year 1 when there is more whole class teaching. Although conversely it might not, if there are lots who are struggling.

I'm not saying don't move, but really ask the questions of the new school to check this isn't 'grass is greener'.

We moved our reception aged child recently and she started the day after February half term. She has blossomed in her new environment and is back to her old self. She was very nervous and scared about moving but after her first day she came out so happy and excited and she has never looked back. I wish we had moved her earlier but wanted to give the old school a chance. Always trust your instincts. Kids are so resilient and it will do more harm than good leaving them in an unhappy environment.

I think the younger the better if you’re going to do it

That said your first port of call is does the school you want have spaces?

I moved my dd half way through reception year (because we moved house) and she was completely fine. She was a bit sad to leave her friends but at that age they make friends so quickly that within a few weeks of starting the new school she barely thought of the school she had left behind!

I did after five days in poor reception (with good reputation). By the end of KS1 half the class had left. No problems with child, just said School 2 is nicer and it was.

We moved DS in year 1 and other than a bit of anxiety pre-move he settled in incredibly quickly. He's year 2 now and barely remembers his old school, admittedly also because he missed a lot of the time there due to lockdowns.

Can you go and have a look round the new school with your DS and see what he thinks of it? His reaction to the things that are different to his old school might also help you work out some more pros and cons.

Yes, we moved our DD midway through reception (due to a long-distance house move). In our case the move was from a small village school to a bigger school in the town we now live in.

Our DD is a little on the shy side. However, once knowing there were places available we contacted the school and were able to arrange a visit which got her really excited about it. She has settled in really well.

I think reception is an ideal time to move, there seem to be lots of children leaving / joining the year which makes it generally easier to settle as friendships aren't as established.

Though as a pp mentioned as you're not moving area, it might be worth just do a little research to ensure that you're happy with the other school as once it's done it's obviously not easy to move back again!

We moved our reception aged son this February due to a house move. The previous school was better academically and we miss it but he was picking up odd behaviours. The new school is not organised but at least behaviour is better. It's taken time but I'd say he's settling.
I feel he's lost half a term of phonics and who knows what else. But with phonics specifically they schools use different books which threw him. The new school is further ahead so not knowing things knocked his confidence when he was already feeling sensitive. He physically recoils at phonics now but luckily I'm on mat leave so have time to boost confidence at home. But yes...just the fact the books were different threw him.
Just as a general point...reception was a massive shock, i thought as he'd been at a pre school it'd be an evolvement of that but in both schools i can see it's v different...in different ways.
Getting the right school is hard if your kid is sensitive as mine is so just do your homework and try and make sure new school meets expectations

DC1 has been in 4 primary schools, including abroad, first moved in reception, kids are very flexible.

We moved at this age due to a house move. No issues at all.

Thanks everyone, really appreciated. We've been to look round, spoken to numerous parents and are happy with our choice. My son has been offered a place and we'll take him to look round in the middle of next term with a view to moving after spring bank. Feeling happy with our choice.