School in rough area or nicer area

[lemons222]

Really don't want to sound snobby here but just want opinions. School in the rougher area has a preschool nursery, wraparound care, great rating with ofsted, has won awards, has had a lot of funding, but is in a rough area close to a few big council estates that dont have a great reputation, school has a very high percentage of children who have free school meals.
School in the nicer area doesn't have preschool nursery, only starts from reception, no wraparound care, lower ofsted rating, but much lower than national average number of children who have free school meals. School in the nicer area is closer to my house too.
Which would you choose? My children are 3 and 2 but need to start applying soon

Go visit. Then choose. You'll know

Chose the school that meet your needs. If you need wraparound & nursery chose that. Don’t disregard or decline a great school on an arbitrary reason like %free school meals or proximity to social housing. You are being snobby if you decline a good school for those spurious reasons

I'd go for the most inspirational school. But if not much in it I'd go closest. Mine are not long out of primary and being local is really good on many levels

It is so vile to look down on children because they receive free school meals or live on a council estate. I’m sorry but it really is.

A good Ofsted rating doesn't mean the academic standards are higher. It just means the staff do a great job with the children.

Go to visit and look carefully at the children in each school - how they speak, how they behave, how much they seem to like their schooling. They are what your children will turn into if they go to that school.

If you like what you see, great, that's your new school. If not, look elsewhere.

6 years in. Choose the snobby area. Jeeze. It's been fine until the last year. Bored AF and love confrontation.

Visit and decide. My child goes to a pre school nursery at a school like the first one you describe BTW, its a great school and he's really happy there. Lots of lovely activities, nice staff, nice kids. 70% of the kids are FSM eligible.

The free school meal percentage is published in the school's report it isn't about looking down on children. But the school is in an area that has more antisocial problems. Definitely will take a look at both schools. Swaying towards the one that is closer to where I live purely for ease anyway

It's not the children though? It's their parents.

The council estates nearest to my current house have a lot of antisocial behaviour. A lot of kids on FSM because a parent works cash in hand, drug problems, etc. How do you think kids from those environments will magically have a desire to learn and good behaviour?

In another area where I use to live council estate FSM was completely different a lot of people in bad circumstances trying their hardest. Carers, domestic abuse survivors with young children, etc

It's not just about that but PP said it's a 'rough area'. And if poverty wasn't closely linked with bad life outcomes people wouldn't be obsessing over how to solve it would they?

If you like what you see, great, that's your new school.

Only if your DC is high enough up the list of applicants once they are ranked according to the school’s oversubscription criteria...

As others have said, visit.

But remember, school isn't just about the academic side of things. It's about preparing children for life in the real world. Mixing with people from different backgrounds from a young age is a really useful experience, as it will help them develop compassion and understanding for the people they will meet when they are adults.

@R41nb0wR0se yes definitely! It's most likely they will only get into the one nearest us anyway based on catchment areas. A long way off yet but the local high school to us will definitely give them this experience. All schools can certainly have their problems regardless of the area too I am fully aware

You don’t mention results. How do they vary for things like the y1 phonics check and sats? I’d want to see those results as well as things like absence figures, how active the PTA, behavioural policies etc.

@Bunnycat101 great point I haven't looked into that, I definitely will!

Visit both and then express your preference. It will all depend on the admission criteria and where you fit in that. You can’t choose a school, you can state which you prefer. Depending on how many preferences your area offers, please fill them. Selecting a preference for only one school does not guarantee a place.

@Bluevelvetsofa yes I was thinking that we may only be able to get into the one in our catchment area anyway. The other school is the closest one with a preschool nursery so I may see if they can go there for that and then maybe they would have to move to our catchment school for reception

This might be a good idea, I have friends who have done this in a similar situation. You will learn a lot about the school by having your children in nursery there - interaction with other parents, seeing staff with the children etc. If you love it, you can apply and hope to get in for primary. But if you have concerns, you have the option of the closer one.

This post perfectly encapsulates why I am leaving this hell hole of a country.

I agree

Nobody is looking down on the children. I understand it's a sensitive topic but the data on FSMs is published in the reports and is used to look at how deprived areas are. Many deprived areas have more antisocial problems, crime, etc. it's not about judging individual people on their circumstances, of course some people are in difficult financial circumstances that are out of their control, but overall this tends to be the case. This area I am talking about is known for not being the safest, not all areas with issues with poverty are the same I'm sure

I’m not afraid to say that we moved from a stereotypical “rough” area to a more “affluent” area for schools.

Having walked past the primary in the rough area at pickup time, I knew it wasn’t where I wanted my DD to go because the parents were a nightmare and shouting and swearing at their kids and smoking at the gates with their big intimidating dogs. The kids are probably fine (especially at primary age) but I know I’d not have been happy sending them anywhere near the homes of these kids if they were friends. I feel for the kids if this was what they saw as normal.

At the more affluent (but definitely not posh) area, there is barely any of this and it’s quite respectful. I think my main criticism would be that the kids are very naive and secondary will hit them hard!

Schools in worse areas typically have more funding which can give them better facilities/more staff, but personally I’d (anecdotally) think this is balanced out by having more children that need a higher level of support.

Visit the schools as you may feel more drawn to one. Try the nursery and it may be you get to know and love the school prior to the application deadline, or know it’s not for you!

I would visit your catchment school first and go from there. My dc went to and are going to primary school in a deprived area. Secondary is more mixed as there is one secondary school in our town and the catchment area is huge. Primary school is great. My dc learnt a few more sweat words than I would have liked but I think that would happen in most schools. I would take no notice of the number of children in FSM. I don't think it means very much. My dc are on FSM, as are lots of children.

Every School in the World has bad behaviour, bullying, bullies, Thieves etc