Should we keep him at nursery school or move for Reception?

[NEWBee88]

Hi. Would love any advice. My son is at a nursery within a school (we had to move from private nursery due to a change in finances).,Long story but we put a different
school as 1st choice - school A. I feel the ambition for children’s achievement and overall environment is better there. And is a within a very lovely setting, had a very nurturing feel.

However fast forward to now and my child is obviously happy and settled in the nursery attached to the school - school B. Most kids (20 out of 24) will go up to the school. Now feeling torn as to whether to move him. There’s nothing wrong with the school, it’s fine I just preferred school A and it has a better rep. There is a window opening in 2 weeks to be able to make a change.

School B where my child is - is looking like small class sizes for 2026 reception - approx 20 in a class which although not great for the school, could be really beneficial for the kids - a calm learning environment. It’s a 2 form school, has been struggling with falling numbers (low birth rate and “better” schools in the area). The intake is very girl heavy - from what people are saying it’s probably about total intake of 30 girls and 10 boys (so approx 15 girls and 5 boys in a class). Whilst I don’t want to gender stereotype, and I love that he has lots of girl friendships I wonder if so few boys as he gets older would be limiting in play/ similar interests/ social and friendship opportunities. I want him to be happy through the years.

School A is oversubscribed - 1 form class of 30 - appreciate this is not unnormal but 20 vs 30 for a young child does seem a big difference.

As he’s in nursery rather than school years I feel like this is our window to move him before he starts school and hence really considering this. Worried about transitioning him as he loves his friends but I think the 6 week summer break will help. I still feel School A is best but wanted to sense check with the small classes / boy number information as I am emotionally torn.

Both are within a 10 min walk.

Thanks!

Just to clarify school A is where we are allocated (original first choice - 30 in the year). School B is where we are now (20 in a form).

At that level of undersubscription, they may well be looking at combining classes over year groups.

They will be underfunded.

On my mind too. They’d be missing funding for approx 20 children . But could be a good key stage 1 start before combining?

Go with your gut on the feel of the schools - things like quality of communication, availability of clubs and before/after school care. Worth bearing in mind that a school can be oversubscribed because they have already made the change from two form to one. It doesn’t in itself mean it’s better.

You prefer school A to school B for a reason. Stick with your original choice.

Children of this age move on so quickly in terms of making new friends. I definitely wouldn't keep him at a school you don't rate as highly because he currently has friends at nursery who will go to that school.

Also, it does sound very limiting in terms of friendships in the future. Obviously boys can be friends with girls and vice versa but being one of only 5 boys in a class doesn't sound great for when he's in KS2.

Plus, an under subscribed school is an underfunded school and that drastically affects the opportunities offered to the children (resources, experiences etc).

He'll settle beautifully into his new school and make friends just as easily as he did at nursery. Then you'll wonder what on Earth you worried about. I really think you'll regret keeping him at his nursery school, rather than moving him to your allocated school, in the long term (even if he appears happy in the short term because he's with friends from nursery). Long term is always the goal. Think long term. School A wins.

School A all the way - go with what you gut said originally. At this age, friendships really change a lot- even if they went to preschool or nursery with a kid, they won't necessarily be friends with them in reception.

DD knew noone who went to her school (tight oversubscribed catchment) and made friends quickly. Any school worth their salt will help them settle.

My daughter's old school reception class had 2 class of 20/21. In year one they mixed year one and two together to make three mixed y1/2 classes.
My daughter started school not knowing anyone and quickly made friends.
We then moved her again for Year One due to not liking the idea of mixed year classes and other school changes. She has made new friends quickly and hasn't said much about the ones in her old school. The teacher said you couldn't tell she didn't do Year R with the rest.

as a PP said, you should check opportunities for clubs, wrap around care (even if not needed right now) and if hot lunches are offered, do they offer residential trips in later years? Also check job-shares for each year.
My kids went to a 2 form entry school and eldest was in a class of 20 which was amazing for her. She was young in the year and took a while to settle but that was her personality rather than the school.
They then had mixed classes all the way through to yr6. This did have advantages though as the kids mixed more and had friends in different year groups.
One thing I wasn’t keen on was the job-shared teaching. I would have preferred one dedicated teacher but this can’t be guaranteed anywhere.
My concern would be the boy/girl mix. In later years I found kids did gravitate towards their own sex in friendships.
Good luck!

Thanks so much everyone. This is really reassuring. We‘d spent from Dec - April thinking we’d be allocated school B and so have settled in here, even though we knew school A was the better fit for us (but 2 doors out of catchment so didn’t think we’d get it). So I think since allocations in April I’ve been feeling the emotional pull and questioning our decision. Even though I absolutely know school A is the better long term option.

we have a few milestones coming up that I think may trigger my emotion a little - sports day and then last day of term/ probably all the school gather at the local park (for us this would be the last day of being with his friends and their parents whom we have bonded with). Any tips on how to deal with those occasions / emotions? Best approach for my child too?

Also I hope I’m not sounding hard done by - I know we are in a lucky position to be offered the school that we put down as our number 1. Just saying goodbye to this chapter is hard too.

Thanks so much. I think the boy/ girl ratio would be on my mind too as he gets older. I know that School A is very mixed (it’s 1 form intake - always has been). I’m lucky to have this insight at this stage I think.

Just stay calm, and acknowledge endings and new beginnings. Show him how excited you are about the new school, and that he should too. Attend any events you can (do they have a spring fair?), and the settling sessions. If the teacher does visits, welcome them to meet your child at home (not all schools do this).

See whether there are any groups (Facebook/WhatsApp etc) for new starters (ours were all publicised via local Facebook groups (e.g. xxx parents/xxx mums). Do any soft plays etc hold events for them to meet each other (not sure whether this one is a quirk of where we live!)

It's worth following all of the general feedback for starting school- many, many kids will be in the same position leaving nursery/moving areas etc

Just because he is moving schools, it doesn't mean he won't see his friends from the old one any more. That said, most make new friends very early in!

If anyone else has any advice or experience to share I’d be very grateful to hear.

Thank you xx