Help! Primary school choices….

[PinkMimi]

I am really struggling to decide which primary school is best for our daughter. Like anyone, I just want her to be happy, confident and of course I’d like her to have a good education. If your child has finished primary school and you have had a good experience with them then going on to do well at secondary school, can I ask how you would rate each of these? 1 being the most important and 8 being the least important.

1. Within walking distance
2. Reputation of the school
3. Exam results
4. Size of the school (Big or small)
5. Going from nursery going to the same school
6. Wraparound care
7. School friends living within walking distance / close by
8. Forming friendships with other parents / being part of a PTA.

Any responses much appreciated, thank you

Mine have attended 5 schools between them (military family). DD2 currently in Yr6

1. Weve had walking distance, school transport and driving. The driving was the most stressful. There was parking issues and road work problems, plus a motorway diversion on the odd occasion covered the majority of the route. The last couple of years have been walking distance and it has been very enjoyable.

1. Reputation... moving around weve often got just whats available... and its been fine. Often the reputation is about outdated ideas.

1. Exam results... others childrems results are no indication of how your child will do. And again are based on outdated information... teachers change. Children change. Weaknesses are often addressed.

1. Size... they've been at a school with 100 pupils, and DD1 went to a 4 form entry for a while. My personal preference is 2 form entry. The smaller schools were great when they were young though. But more pupils is more staff sharing workload (Senco, subject leads etc). However too big overloads things like the playground and school hall.

1. Nursery..... didn't effect them a bit not going to same one. We moved countries just before each child started reception!

1. Didn't use wraparound so cannot comment.

1. Friends being close by is nice for them.... especially as they get older and get more independence.

1. Adult friends... I came to find this irrelevant as people weren't interested in latecomers. It had no effect on their education.

Overall... schools actually have a lot more similarities than differences. But they also have individual strengths and weaknesses.

1. Within walking distance - essential to me, especially at 8.30 am.

2. Reputation of the school - thus changes anyway.

3. Exam results - in state primary, the only exams are Y2 and Y6 SATS. My DCs schools didn't make a fuss about these at all, for which I thank them. DS didn't end up doing Y6 SATS anyway (Covid cohort).

4. Size of the school (Big or small) - dc went to a 1 form entry school. This was fine for DS - although he is an insular old soul, so he may have benefited from being made to socialise with more than 1 form's worth of people. For DD it was problematic when she fell out with the "queen bee" in her form.

5. Going from nursery going to the same school - not a problem/no experience, our school didn't have a nursery attached. Children came from various early years settings. DS had a completely different set of friends within a fortnight of starting reception.

6. Wraparound care - essential for us with 2 working parents.

7. School friends living within walking distance / close by - nice as they get older and can walk to their friends by themselves, but we're rural, so - of course - my DC's best friends have always lived in other villages!

8. Forming friendships with other parents / being part of a PTA - irrelevant to choosing a school.

6,2,3. If you need wraparound it needs to be top of the list.

@PinkMimi If you can express a preference for several schools, and you have a chance of getting into one or more, might I suggest that quality of teaching and the quality of senior leadership is what makes the biggest difference to a child doing well. Research has consistently shown this.

Your list: I had no school where we live. Walking to school is important if you are time constrained although they don’t walk on their own at 5! It does mean dc can walk with friends when older.

Reputation: for what? Good teaching and leadership for me. YR and beyond. Most parents don’t always know what good teaching looks like or how to judge it.

Exam results: higher in sats tables probably indicates middle class area. What progress have dc made from their starting points. That’s what matters.

Size: mine needed plenty of dc around them. 2 form entry is fine. A tiny school in y6 means sport and music is very limited.

Nursery: you can normally only go to a school if you meet the admissions requirements. Check if nursery gives any link to YR admission. Many can join from elsewhere and friendships develop.

Wraparound care: didn’t need it. If you do, then consider it important.

Friends nearby: great but not essential. We are rural too!

Friends with parents: Great if they are like you. Not sure how you tell in advance and immaterial to quality of education.

The most important factor is whether you meet the criteria for a place.

I would go for a bigger school, especially if the child is shy. They have more chance of finding a friend like them.
All schools nowadays have lots of children with SEN and also children with behaviour issues. Bigger schools are often better as they can dilute any challenging behaviours, small schools can often be overwhelmed by them.

1. Within walking distance - it's lovely to be able to walk to school! Great start to the day, keeps them fit and you meet loads of others doing the same.
2. Reputation of the school - yep! Of course that's important and reflective of how good the school is. 3)School friends living within walking distance / close by. This is important because it makes their lives more fun!
3. Size of the school. I wouldn't want my child in a really small school as I don't think it prepares them for the real world. When my daughter started school there were 23 in her class which was pretty good for a state school! Up to 30 by year 3 though. Does class size impact learning? Maybe for some but really it only takes one badly behaved child to tip the balance and throw the whole class into chaos. We've been lucky not to have any real behaviour issues in the class so far and she's done well throughout.
4. Forming friendships with other parents / being part of a PTA. Friendships yes!! PTA is something I have managed to actively avoid though.
5. Going from nursery going to the same school. Nice when settling in but not essential.
6. Wraparound care is nice to have and I use it from time to time.
7. Exam results. Not important to me because I don't believe young children should have to do exams. And SATs are pointless.

Whst is most important for you?
Being local Walk to school is important but if the one a bit further has wraparound care that you need then go for that one

Depends on your circumstances.

For most, distance and wraparound care will be the most important due to parents' working hours.

Following

It obviously will depend on admission criteria and which school(s) you can actually get into. It’s not a choice. It’s expressing a preference. However the admissions must follow the policies published by each school. Do these schools both have admissions policies that allow your dc a space.