To move schools or not

[Headlesschicken12]

Hi everyone. I'd like some thoughts and opinions on a matter which is really bugging me

Some details:
We have a 4yo son who attends reception
The school has recently been rated good by ofsted
The preschool was absolutely amazing and was the reason why we wanted son to carry on with the school attached.
The school is in a very deprived area
Teachers aren't as professional as expected in school setting
Son is happy and settled as it stands
I have worked in various school settings so I'm speaking from what is normal to me.

The issues from the start of reception have been small but lots of small issues have made me feel like it's one big issue as a whole. The parents at this school (id say around 80%) don't really care or aren't really bothered about the academic side of things. It seems that the school are meeting with this level of parenting while the other 20% of parents just have to suck it up. For example reading books only given on Fridays over the weekend and every other day there is a message "gentle reminders" about the importance of reading at home. Non uniform days ends up being pyjama days, alot of parents turn up in pyjamas themselves most mornings. Recently found out two mums do OF content. Lots of swearing/smoking/vaping on school grounds. Alot of young parents that seem to be on mobility scooters. Lots of inappropriate behaviour from parents which makes me wonder what are they showing and teaching their own children. It's basically so very rough, you just dont behave like that in public.

I'm torn between moving our son to a different school for the start of year 1 in September or letting him be amongst the unknown.

After the cold shoulder we got from head teacher and senco after complaining about some things (lack of updates on learning etc) I just don't know if I can tolerate another 6 years of this stuff. Our son is really bright and is ahead in most subjects (as told by his preschool teacher and current teacher) though I know there are other students to consider. If my son can read through storybooks, surely they can let him have books to read all week like most other schools i know of? There was no homework or any sort of task set over the holidays and it just doesn't make sense to me while his cousins who are the same age (different city and also attend different schools from one another) have all of the above.

What would you do in this situation?
Drop offs and pick ups can be brief and I am aware this could happen at any school given how deprived this town is as a whole. But it is literally constant things happening which makes me so miserable. Children as young as 3/4 should not be talking about private areas so casually surely? Swearing and doing inappropriate things.

Hope this made some sense. Looking forward to hearing some opinions
Thank you in advance!

He's in the second term of reception, what updates about learning do you expect? Imo your bar is very high and you won't be happier elsewhere.

The impact of homework on learning at primary has very little supportive evidence. Ime the homework and ready you describe is totally normal.

If the preschool is attached to the primary school, presumably it’s on the same site, with the same parents and the same children, moving from preschool to reception. What was the difference before?

After one term in reception, I wouldn’t be concerned about not having much feedback. I imagine there will be a parents evening in the coming term, when you will be able to speak to his teacher. There’s nothing to stop you taking him to the library and taking out a range of story books for him to read. Nothing to stop you doing work with him at home, if you choose to.

It sounds as though you’ve got off on the wrong foot with the head and the SENCo- why the SENCo? It doesn’t sound as though you’ve think he has additional needs.

Of course, you can change schools to any that have a place in reception if you choose. Would your son like to move?

Move him. Definitely. Kids move for all kinds of reasons and you can keep up any friendships you want to keep from preschool.

We're reception parents at a leafy, high attaining school with very involved parents. We also get 1 book a week, no conversations at drop off or pick up unless youre seeking it, no mandatory homework, no feedback to date apart from parents evening. I just assume no news is good news.

That said your child's cohort is important and will have a big impact on him. When you look at the year 6s are they the sort of kids you'd like yours to be? This feels a different issue to the learning concerns you mention though.

What is your involvement with Senco?

@Headlesschicken12 I would be looking at other schools.

My DD1 was a bright child and at 4 had a book change on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I suspect some dc didn’t but DD thrived and learnt quickly. We had a school meeting on how they teach reading and maths. We had a settling in parents meeting. What we could not do is take dc to the classroom every day and speak to the teacher. We could make an appointment to see her. We also had a home - school log where we could add in notes. It is the job of schools to communicate with parents and you should know what their reading strategies are.

I just think you are a square peg in a round hole and the teachers are not differentiating between bright and less capable dc. We had an open assembly once a term. Dc had to memorize lines. Some could not but others were confident about this.The school monitored progress and certainly checked what dc could do on arrival into YR and that info was the base line upon which to build. Your school probably has many dc below the expected levels on entering YR and is concentrating on pulling them up, not on your DS. Thats not what I would want. He might also struggle to find similar dc to work with.

As for the parents - again, it’s just not for you. I’d be leaving too as what you describe is not for me either. At least you know what questions to ask of a different school. Ofsted won’t care about parents or pyjama days. Good is good enough but that doesn’t mean it’s the right school for you. Find out where else has places and what their learning strategies and curriculum are.