Choosing a school

[ebonyray]

Hi all, I wondered if you could help me with a dilemma! My little boy is starting school next year, he will only just have turned 4. Luckily all the schools we have seen are lovely and overall we'd be happy with him going to any. We've got the choice of the local village primary which is very small and convenient, part of the community etc, and a bigger school a 10/15 minute drive away in a different town that is two form entry rather than one form, has much more to offer in terms of facilities, clubs etc, and it is infants moving onto a separate junior school rather than primary. I really wanted to love the small local primary but I didn't get the vibe that everyone had said to look out for, I felt a more positive vibe from the bigger school. One of my main concerns is that my little one is very shy/quiet and I cannot work out which school would help him with his confidence the most. I am worried the smaller school may make it harder for him long term. I work from home freelancing so driving isn't a problem at this stage although that could always change and I could end up wishing we'd stayed local! I just want the best for him and finding it hard to decide. He is a quiet, sensitive soul. Any advice appreciated!

How small is “small” for your local? That’s really a decider about whether the local one would be an option or not for me.

In terms of personality, getting the right mix of kids and the right teacher is key here - there’s no guarantee of this anywhere.

My son was (definitely no longer, thanks to school!) very quiet and cautious when he first started. His class don’t have too many overbearing children and he’s been encouraged by the staff at all points to be confident in himself. If there’d been a few more “characters” in the class or I’d the teacher was one that was happy with a very quiet but well behaved boy and hadn’t spent the time to encourage him to speak up I doubt he’d have changed so much. All of this is pot luck and changes year on year!

I’m quite a big fan of slightly bigger schools as opposed tiny village ones. I can see village infant schools can work, but small schools going all the way up to y6 do limit child development a bit. By this I mean a wider friendship group, sports and music. Even having similar children to work with can be an issue. So starting off small can seem nurturing but I’ve seen parents fall out, friendships disintegrate and lots of Dc leave because parents don’t like how the school is going - downhill in their view.

So I think bigger can offer more and be more stable. They will have teachers of differing ages and inevitably more expertise.within the staff.

I have seen many 2 form schools in operation snd I do believe staff are skilled in not leaving anyone behind. I would look at the progress the children make at the schools. Good progress (above average) really means the school is teaching all Dc well. They want all
to make good progress and should be encouraging Dc who might not be doing as well as they could. I also think shy children do respond well to having plenty going on. Teachers include all children. I bet he would find his feet.

Where I was a governor, the Head introduced a “no hands up” policy. This meant teachers asked any child for an answer or an opinion. No children dominating. It meant all children were valued equally.

If you didn’t love the village school, you didn’t. Often parents are very protective of “their”
school and overlook shortcomings. You don’t have to be persuaded by them. Trust your instinct.