Primary or infant school?

[36and3]

Ds will be starting reception 2026 so we’ve been thinking and have narrowed our top two. However, both very different and interested in others’ thoughts as to how rank preference.

A very important factor is that my mum will be doing most of the school runs, she is 69 and doesn’t drive so she’ll be walking.

school A -
Infant school so would mean reapplying again for KS2
1.2 miles from me / 0.7m and 15m walk from my parents
Two form entry (I like the small size)

school B -
primary school so once “in”, would be sorted.
1.5 miles from me / 1.1m and 30m walk from my parents
Three form entry

Where is the Junior school for school A?
Do children from A get priority entrance at the Junior?

Do you actually have a good chance of getting into both?

Though asking your parents to walk 4.4 miles a day in all weathers seems quite an ask, especially for 7 years.

A 30 min school run is an hours walk, so two hours walking a day. Is your mum really OK doing that, including when it’s sleeting in February?

She’s said she will happily do it but I completely agree it’s a big ask and commitment. Dh can probably do two days of runs.

The junior school most feed into for A isn’t that great if I’m honest.

I think school B walk might be too far for your mum every day for 7 years but you need to talk to her about it.
Are you sure in school a that you would have to apply again at year 3. Most infant schools are feeder schools for the local junior schools and would get an automatic place. Have you checked the entry criteria?. In any case how far away is the junior school from the infant school and from your mum's house? .
Which school do you like best and which will suit your child best? Ultimately you should chose the better school to suit your child . Even If that means you have to change your pick off and drop off arrangements.

I really love the feel of small infant schools, but actually i find thier junior counterparts a bit sterile in comparison to years 3-6 at an all through primary. I think it's the absence of ayounger cohort there.

I also think that transition for year 3 is great for some pupils but hard for others.. It depends on how linked the two schools are. My sins infant school, his class if 30 went to 11 different schools so it was very different. He was fine but some struggled.

Is school B a 30 mins walk for adults or 30 mins for a tired 5 year old?

I can walk to school in less than 10 mins by myself but with the kids faffing around and going slow it’s often a 30 mins walk.

You make a great point re transition and impact on the child.

The junior school most feed on to is even closer to my mum, would be just a ten minute walk. But I don’t love it. That said, I haven’t looked around it so can’t give an honest, objective view.

If school B were closer, and had 60 children not 90 per year group - I’d want that one. Basically a unicorn!

For adults 😞

Definitely the closer one. That is a very long walk for a Reception child (I would say an hour), and your mum so be dealing with the fallout on top of her 2.5 hr walk per day. Also your mum is not getting younger and by 77 a 2 hr walk in the rain might get challenging. Schools change and I think you'll just have to swallow the short term difficulties of transition to Y3 for the longer term difficulty of that v long walk. Also the junior school is even nearer so that will be great when he moves up. My worst son went to infants which fed to juniors and they pretty much so moved up together, so the transition was easy.

Eldest son, not worst, bless him!

I guess you also need to factor in the fact that your mum, currently 69, will be 76 by Year 6 in primary. Walking 4 1/2 miles a day at 76 might be a much bigger challenge.

I was just thinking on the schools but that 30 min walk will be longer with a 5 year old in the cold and rain or heat. Your mum will be walking 2.5 hours a day. It's a big ask.

Then it’s too far away. Your Mum will be spending 3 hours a day on the school run.

Neither.

You need to look at other schools, or find another form of childcare. It's really unfair to expect your mother to do this.

Literally zero expectation. She has completely offered.

As I said dh can hopefully do two days and I may be able to do one. So my mother would never be doing five days. But cheers.

I'd look at which one offers before & afterschool club as honestly your mum will struggle doing this. I know she's offered but actually doing it every day in all weather's with an exhausted child isn't going to be a long term plan.

I definitely prefer the 2 form entry son woukd go for school A.

This isn’t the case for most, if not all, infant and junior schools round here.
The two schools, even if very close, are two totally separate entities with separate headteachers, SLT, teachers, etc.
My infant school shares the same grounds as the junior school bearing the same name and where almost all of our children go on to. They are, nonetheless, two completely separate schools in every way.

This means that in year 2 parents must complete an LEA application to go ti their next school. Parents can put done their choices, as they did for entry to reception. It’s the same process.

Whilst almost every child will go to that school it is not automatic and if you are out of catchment you may not always get in.

It's lovely that she's offered, but that doesn't mean you need to take advantage of her generosity. She could easily be spending hours of her day doing school runs, in all weathers, with a tired and grumpy child.

You admit that she will be doing most of the school runs. Any plans for you and your DH doing them are maybes and hopefullys, so she could end up being the one to do 5 days a week.

I really think you need to look at other schools or childcare options.

What is the breakfast/afterschool club provision at each one? I think you need to consider how you would manage in the long term if your mum was no longer able to do the journey for you - have seen with my own parents that their abilities can go downhill very drastically through illness or injury

Also is the journey time/distance taking into account your mum going via your house and vice versa?

Having grown up in a 1 form entry village school I was very uncertain about the 3 form entry primaries near us but honestly it's fine. Bigger schools mean a bigger pool of potential friends - if your child doesn't gel as well with children in their class they have others they can play with. Bigger schools also may mean more clubs etc.

A 30 min walk is a lot. Are these schools in your catchment? I wouldn't want to do it at the end of a rainy December day when it's getting dark and your child is knackered because the autumn term is so long.

Sounds like School A stands out more favourably.

The answer a pp, no my mum would not be walking via my house. She would collect my son from school and take him back to hers.

To another pp, yes we would have to apply to the LA again for Year 3, it’s not automatic transition.

I definitely prefer the smaller school for its size and distance. I suppose we don’t know what life will be like when he’s 7 so best to just plan for the initial few years, which is easier on everyone , and rank School A first.

This sounds very similar to the choice we had last year (I really wasn't a fan of the linked junior as it was somewhat..idiosyncratic).

I would go and look at them,as that will usually focus your mind on the things you didn't know you wanted, and on whether the walk is actually worth the benefits of one over the other.

We chose the through school for a variety of reasons, including being impressed by one teachers we met, the head, and the facilities (a very active PTA that fundraiser.more widely in the community and with local businesses too...and it shows). It was also closest to us, and we live in a close catchment area.

The infant one would have been our first choice if we hadn't toured it. The head was far from inspiring, the buildings were crumbling, and we saw a lot of bad behaviour (on a guided tour; the primary let parents at the open days wander and talk to whoever they wanted). It was out of catchment, but we would have easily got in based on previous years. A lot of DD's nursery friends went there, though, so it varies a lot depending on what you are looking for.

Tldr; go and look and you wil probably end up with a gut feeling on which one. Think about how doable the walk is and whether yhe benefits are enough. Make sure you look at other schools in the area so you can benchmark.

Is it likely that you’ll get in to the schools from where you live?

How close do you live to your parents? You won’t be able to apply for a place on the basis of who is doing wraparound care for you.

And she might have offered, but might not get the reality of it. Also, you do need to consider who would be doing this is your mum was unwell, or wanted to go on holiday.

Far better, I think, to find a school with good wraparound care.