Primary school place

[ivise]

Hi, so basically my daughter was given nearest primary school to my house, wasn't my choice , the others I choose was still quite near but they are oversubscribed. She was given an infant school as well . That school has mixed reviews and always has spaces to take on people which makes me think that no one wants that school . I am a bit worried that this school will be awful for her . I have put myself on waiting list but I know I won't get place .
Other schools I want are always are full but they are primary schools . I am not sure what I want from this post , maybe other mums who has been in a similar situation and everything end up being fine . I am a bit sad but I don't want to show that to my daughter x

Why would you automatically assume the school will be 'awful' for her simply because they have space? Have you even visited the school? Many many people don't get their first choice, and many end up pleasantly surprised by what they get. At the end of the day, most children will get on just fine at most schools if you give them a chance. Being local is a big plus in terms of friendships, for example. Being Infants only may make it feel less intimidating for her. No massive Year 6s charging around the playground and eating in the lunch hall etc. Look for the positives. ALL schools have mixed reviews when you think about it as you'll never please everyone. Just because this school isn't rated by some people doesn't mean it won't be by you.

Definitely visit the school if you haven't done so already. You'll never know unless you give it a chance.

Why don't you visit and try to speak to parents of some of the kids there. Both my sons went to a school that always seemed to have places. Most classes averaged around 25 kids it didn't mean it was a bad school and it was a fantastic fit for them.

It might have spaces because people aren’t sure about the transitional arrangement to junior school. Where would she go after the end of infants.

I’d echo what others have said about giving the school a chance.

Many thanks,

Hayley

You need to start by going to look around the school you've been given. It isn't worth stressing before that. I agree with PPs that local is great in terms of friendships and walking to school. Infant schools tend to be much more nurturing and less scary to littlies than primary IME. Different schools will each have a different ethos, which may or may not fit your DC - I rejected a couple of 'outstanding' primaries as they weren't a good fit for DD1 - but this can't been seen on paper. There can be perfectly acceptable reasons that schools start the year with spaces.

We are sat between a town with the 2-tier system and one with the 3-tier, so have the option of doing either. I was sceptical of the 3-tier as we had no experience of it, but it was the clear choice as the secondarys in the other town are dire. When DD1 started school, we picked our local village infant school as it wasn't exceptional, but was a good all rounder, we could walk there every day (I'm still thankful for this choice when walking DD2 past the rows of badly parked cars jammed down the narrow road!), and it placed her right into our community. Academically at that age, a huge part of their progress comes from home support, so that wasn't a huge concern and both DCs have made good progress. It has since become a primary school, and is definitely now a louder and less chilled place to be for the youngest, but still is active as a part of the community.
DD1 has now moved to middle school, and it is just fabulous. All of the resources of secondary school (eg proper science labs doing 'proper' experiments in lab coats), whilst still not being too full of rampaging bigger kids as it is just 4 year groups and yr5 are largely kept separate. They are given responsibility and independence in a way that just isn't possible at a primary too, which has seen DD1 flourish.
Both the infant (now primary) and middle school have always had spaces at the start of the year, but there are genuine reasons for this. Definitely don't just dismiss your allocated school before at least seeing it.

I was just going to say once the year six sats are over they will probably invite her for some transition days - then I realised they would not have this added pressure.

Going to the nearest school is definitely a bonus. Infant schools can be wonderfully nurturing.

People are often put off them as t can be annoying doing tw9 school runs and going to nativities.

Not going to lie , when I first visited school, I thought it was lovely little school , nice big space for kids to play outside . I didnt mind so much that it was an infant school . One thing I didn't like that they had were these calm down rooms which looked awful and dark. I went on Facebook to do research and this is where I found few people complaining about this school and also mentioning her child being put in the room for ages . There were some safeguarding complains too as well as bullying (which I understand is in every school ) but the rooms were the ones that scared me . There were few mums that complain so I know that isn't always the case of how this school might be but it puts scary thoughts in your mind . My daughter would be traumatised if she ever had to go in one of them without anyone being there . But overall I really liked the school itself , I don't know many people who goes there . Their fb page is not so active.

Schools who started Facebook pages have found them to be difficult to manage as people use them to moan.

Do you know anything else about these rooms? I've been working as a supply teacher for longer than I care to say and I have genuinely been in probably one thousand schools (and I only teach EYFS and KS1 nowadays) and I've never seen a room a child goes in for bad behaviour or on their own.

Lots of schools will have a nurture room that is dark with toys that light up for example but they don't go on their own or as a punishment! In fact the dc are usually clamouring to be allowed in.

OP just be aware that what parents write on Facebook and the reality if the situation are often vastly different.

That said I would ask the school their policy on the calm down rooms, what they are used for, what the rules around their use are. I think you will find they are not for punishment but used more to help children regulate their emotions etc.

You will always get parents moaning on Facebook, but you won't hear from the ones who are happy with the school. It will usually be a nurture room - not a dark prison cell!
Schools can change so quickly. We were allocated our first choice, which we were happy with, but I have often wondered about our 3rd choice as parents speak very highly of it locally and it is easy to think the grass may be greener as our 1st choice is not without it's faults.

The general rule I have found is that people who are happy with something don’t usually go on line and say they are happy, it is those with an axe to grind and a feeling of being hard done by that go on an moan, so you are always going to see an imbalance of unfavourable to favourable opinions and reviews.

A local school, as others have said, comes with huge advantages in terms of accessibility, community, friendships, social opportunities , even emergency help for drop offs and pick ups. I hope you have accepted the place as it means your dd has a confirmed place for September. Try to find other parents to talk to about the school directly, that way you will avoid the Chinese whispers effect of gossip.

Go to the settling in days, raise any concerns you have, and most of all try to look forward positively to this important milestone step in your child’s development because she will pick up on any reservations you express.