Hey everyone!
Our DS is 4 and is a term and a half into reception class in the local school, having moving up from the pre-school attached to the primary school.
Whilst he is happy for the most part, there is much disarray at the school, one of his teachers have left already after going off with stress, the remaining teacher (it was a job share arrangement) has been moved elsewhere and he has a supply teacher who is working term to term with no certainty on long term arrangements. The classrooms are open plan and house 3 classes all at capacity with 30 children in each - this means a free flow play of 90 kids running about! We were told in parents evening that DS is behind in class and that he often complains he can’t hear due to the excess noise in the super busy classes. Their ratios are bare minimum so they told us they can’t provide 121 time with him and that we would need to work at home to get him to where he needs to be. We’re heartbroken to hear this and spoke to the headteacher, who admitted that it’s going to take time for things to improve and some things they simply can’t change. The recent OfSted tells a similar story of a school in chaos through mass attrition and lack of stability and embedded curriculum.
There’s a school around 3 miles down the road where his cousins go that is much smaller (100 kids whole school!), and his Grandad works. Grandad can pick him up from school a couple of days a week as opposed to after school club until 5:30pm 4 days a week where he is now. We’ve taken a look around, they have a space and we’ve been offered it. The class sizes are smaller in reception, then mixed in year 1/2, 3/4 and 5/6. Ofsted is good and the school just feels like a lovely community. DS is excited by the idea of seeing his family every day but is worried about the move and leaving behind his friends.
Reservations are that he won’t be going to the school where we live and I’m worried we’re setting him up for a difficult transition and he won’t have children nearby to play with growing up, as well as not being able to walk to school everyday. Selfishly, we’ve also made some great parent friends and I love the community the school brings in that respect.
Am I being selfish moving him from a school he’s happy in, but that isn’t meeting his educational needs and is unlikely to any time soon?