moving to a new school during reception year, how to explain it to your dc?

[JackiePaper]

we are probably moving ds to a new school (and we will probably move house to be closer to the new school). he has only been at current school for 2 weeks (jan intake - he's 4.5), it's our catchment school but never the one i wanted him to go to. The school he's at is a big urban primary, very pushy and academic (we are currently getting 3 pieces of homework every night...). the new school is a small countryside village school, much less pressured etc.

He has been on the waiting list since september and they rang me today to say there is a place if we want it. we would probably move into the village where the school is (we rent) if we do decide to move him.

my gut instinct is to go for it, although we would be skint as dh would have to buy a car to get to work ( and rents are dearer) but how on earth do i explain it to ds? help!

He probably won't question it too much - just say that this is a different school in a village and he'll be fine. I moved DS in Yr 1 and no issues at all.

I moved ds in his first year. I just explained that he was having a new school and that once he had moved he could stay there till he was nearly 13.

We had an awful time the first 2 weeks, by the third week it was the best school in the world.

He does still mention his first school.

thanks oneliein just hope he doesn't ask why he is moving because i don't want to say to him that i don't like his current school!
i think it will be easier if house move and school move co-incide - ie we live here now so this is where you go to school.

glad your ds was fine, did he settle ok and make friends ok in the new school?

thanks twentypence, do you think your ds is happier in new school? did he miss his old school?

Don't worry. Children are so amazingly adaptable.

We moved house a month after DD1 started school, so she moved schools at half term. We just presented it as "this is the way it is" - we have to move house so you have to move schools. She made loads of new friends quickly and settled in very well.

thanks for the reassurance that he would be fine moving, it's just so hard to know if you are doing the right thing

He knew he was on a waiting list, and have a waiting list for pupils so I presumed he knew what that meant. I teach at the school I moved him to and that helped a lot because he was used to visiting etc. It has been nice to see him develop pride in his new school - they have a house system and year 8 buddies and I think both of these helped enormously.

I wouldn't say he is happier - because he was perfectly happy at his old school. He does still talk about the people he knew there, but would rather have a playdate with his new friends. He still moans his new school doesn't have a pole to slide down, but concedes that having a "forest" goes a little way to making up for that.