Would you go for a small village school with 90 children or a large school with 400 children

[PinkMimi]

We have accepted our first choice primary school which is a small village school, I’m panicking now that we should have gone for a larger school? Did you choose a big school or small school for primary and why?

I understand your logic but I’m just sharing my actual experience of a large school and how they treated Sen children (not just mine) which was horrific, whereas I know parents who have sent their Sen children instead to the small school in the next village and that was very good. I still think it depends very much on the culture of the school and how inclusive they actually want to be or not, rather than just being size based

Neither did ours. Some of the schools that you had to live next door to 10 years ago to get in,have spaces. The birth rate has massively dropped! We have so many schools with 60 intakes getting about 40!

Small school. Our current reception year has 6 children, they have a teacher and TA who dedicate their time to just those children. Year 1 & 2 mixed with 15 children in each year group. Same with Yrs 3/4 & 5/6. From memory 3/4 is a small class less than 15 per year and 5/6 slightly over subscribed.

Yes there can be difficulties with friends when small classes involved, my oldest dd struggled as she only had 2 girls friends in the class of 5 girls. My other 2 haven’t had any problems, but both have high girl numbers.

The school dose have a nice friendly feel with children in all age groups socialising.

A negative is problem children can stand out, especially if you have a few at once. A couple of years ago (they will be year 8 now) the year was dominated by problem children, now their younger sibling are now causing trouble in 2 specific year groups. This can be very difficult if you have a child in these classes.

Still I would choose the smaller school over a big school every time.

Why are you panicking OP? What attracted you to the small school initially? What's changed?
My DC go to a very small village school & yes it has its limitations (no wraparound care, less clubs) but it has things larger schools don't - 2 mixed classes with 1 teacher & 2 TAs in each class (not 1-2-1s). They do lots of walks etc in the surrounding areas, welly walks, school trips, swimming every week from Yr3; week long residentials from Yr3; lots of extra support brought in & they participate in sports fixtures at other local schools.
I would choose this school again in a heartbeat - I've friends whose children go to larger local schools & they don't compare.

We went for the small option and my kids’ school has about 45 pupils. We chose it because my eldest is the quiet sort who easily gets overlooked. They’ve been happy there and thrived academically, and made friendships with children of all ages which is lovely.

I would recommend at least trying the small school to see if it’s a good fit. If it doesn’t work out you can always switch.

Our son went to our village primary. There was only fifteen children in his class and less than 100 in the whole school. It was a family. The level of care and teaching was second to none. The teachers knew all the children. It was a wonderful place.

Honestly I think it depends on the individual school. A lot depends on how the school is managed and if staff are happy. My friends DD is in her local tiny country school and my friend hates it. She finds it cliquey and there is never much happening compared to my DDs much larger school which has always something going on. Also DDs school principal despite it being one of the largest schools in the area makes a point of standing and greeting people in the mornings and knows all the children and families. Equally I know people who have children in lovely smaller schools and awful large schools.

Bigger every time. The kids from the nearby tiny village school struggle in the last few years as it's too stifling and then again at secondary as they are overwhelmed.

I think it depends on the type of child you're sending and the type of child who attends. A happy go lucky social butterfly will probably find friends among any number of children, but a quieter type might struggle to fit in if the few in their class are louder and without similar interests.

I think a two form entry is about right. Enough children to find friends. Enough to mix up the classes every year if there's a couple of children who need to be separated for whatever reason. But not so many that children are 'lost' among hundreds in the year.

My two eldest went to a two form primary. It always felt quite a small school to be honest. I have taught in the past and really enjoyed my time at a one form entry as I didn't have to share planning etc and could just get on with what I wanted to teach my class, but I did feel that some of the children could have done with a few more options for friendships, as it was quite a small class anyway.

I wouldn't base the decision just on the size of the school.

I think it really depends on your child and their individual needs.

I went to a tiny village school in the 90s/00s (up to 6 children per year) with two mixed age classes. It felt very secure environment; I knew every child in the school and their families by name, we did a lot of community focused activities and mixing outside of school, etc.

It wasn’t great education wise; the school was chronically underfunded to the point they couldn’t afford equipment like new books, we did a lot of worksheets because ability ranged significantly, as an older child in a class you’d find it often derailed by a younger child. I spent a period entertaining myself in the library in y6 (I don’t think this would happen now) t the as I’d completed a big chunk of the higher level y6 worksheets in y5.

Only you can know what your child needs the most from education - if you picked the small school there must be a reason.

Small. Our dc went to a school with a PAN of 10. They had a fantastic time - it really was such a family - and no problems with transition to secondary. I felt they got a lot of confidence from being known by everyone in the school and this was good when they were given responsibilities in Y5 and Y6.

and it was idyllic. A tree came down in a nearby field and the staff took them over to draw it. Science walks through the local farm or down to the stream. Massive school field full of buttercups and daisies in the summer, trees to climb, huge amounts of space to run around in and a school dog. They did their sports competitions in a county ‘small schools’ league so it was fair. It just seemed really cosy and nurturing - too small for anyone to get lost or not be noticed.

My children are at a 1 form entry village primary although we didn't have a choice as we moved from abroad and that's where there was space in their years. I've been so impressed with it - they have both had a great time, been very nurturing for my quiet DS and lots of opportunities for my more outgoing DD. DD is year 6 and ready for secondary and a bigger pool now, but it's been a great experience and I'd not hesitate to recommend it.

I did vote - but really it totally depends on the schools involved. Size is far from the whole picture.

Do you like the village school? Do kids generally do well there?

Years ago, I would have gone for the smaller school, but now, with the horrendous current Ofsted framework massively impacting on smaller schools, I think the pressures are so intense on staff, I’d go for a bigger school.

Small every time I wouldn't want DD to be 'lost' in a large school

I loved the school before we submitted our choices, I visited it 4 times and I was sure I made the right choice but now I’m back tracking, I think it’s the pressure of trying to get it right. My little girl is very sociable, will play with all kids and quite confident. She is an only child though and I worry that I’ll be limited her friendship options if the classes are small. It’s 1 reception class then mixed 1/2 , 3/4 and 5/6. The children on the times I did visit were just nice, relaxed, confident and happy kids , that’s what I liked. They have really good results which is a bonus. I just want her to be happy. She goes to a village nursery which she loves, we don’t live in the village school she’s going too but are close ish, less than 10 min drive. I think once she starts I’ll feel better… I hate making a decision! 😅

Bigger school but it depends on your child.

My eldest will be starting school this year and I chose a smaller school (school roll of 20). I liked the feel of it better and I liked the attitude of the staff I spoke to better. The bigger school has more money and has more modern 'stuff' but when I visited that was all they spoke about. I saw all the nice resources but never got much info about the ethos, teaching, behaviour management etc. Time will tell but I feel my kids will benefit from the smaller, nurturing, family environment of the small school. I hated making the decision. So difficult to know what is best. Anyone I have spoken to whose kids go to the small school or went in the past have only good things to say about it.
I will be sure to make the effort to get my kids involved in sports/activities outside of school though, to be sure that they have the opportunities to mix with a wider group of peers.

Honestly, it doesn't matter that much really.
Pros and cons to each.

Choose the one within walking distance.

Large school.
I wouldn't want my child in a mixed year class.

Whatever you can walk to. But also consider a lot of smaller schools are closing due to lower birth rate. And can be difficult if there’s friendship issues as there are such a limited amount of kids

All the schools local to us are small relative to urban schools (we are rural). But our first choice happened to be the smallest.

There’s currently 5 starting reception at ours, although that could change. The school goes to year 6 and has 60-70 kids total usually. I’m so happy with it!

The biggest option we had (with a realistic chance of a place) has about 180 kids total.

DD is an only child too if that helps and we feel mixed age classes will be great for her.

Not keen on large schools personally, even though I went to quite a large one.

Yes this!

Definitely being able to walk to school! It’s made such a difference to us now my sons at the local school!

I would say bigger. We are at a small school with 2 years per class. We have had several children removed from other schools placed at our school. It's also a bit too 'local' as in everyone knowing everyone else parent wise. Totally non diverse too. Benefits have been that your child is known by all year groups - the feeling of playing a part in a community for her. Friendships have been OK, normal amount of drama I'd say.