In year school change yr9

[JayMath]

Hi I need some advice. It has come to light that my son has been bullied at school over the last two years. Daily abuse including racial slurs. The pastoral manager basically blamed my son for not raising this with him but my son has previously done this and not felt like it made a difference. Anyway, to cut a long strip short, this has impacted my sons mental health and he is anxious about school and withdrawn generally. I have found a school that he could go to, which is not as academic and has a greater ethnic mix but I’m worried about moving from a higher attaining school to a lower attaining school. My mixed emotions come from the fact that I know my son won’t learn if feeling anxious, and he doesn’t want to do go to school for fear, and I’m not convinced the existing school will handle this well, but is moving to a lower attaining school the right thing to do - all of my local schools have waiting lists and I’ve got a place here because I have a relative who works here
any advice - how can I tell if I’m doing the right thing for him??

You tell him you're moving him to another school that's much nicer where he can get away from the bullying and might actually enjoy going to school?

You can supplement to support any academics that are lacking (although if your child is miserable at school they are probably not learning anyway). Much harder to bolster up damaged mental health and self confidence.

@redskylight Thankyou. He is so low and not the child I sent there in year 7, yet I’m conflicted and it’s purely because the new school is not as academic - however if his environment is not nourishing I suppose he won’t be learning anyway - and he’s almost at the end of year 9, so it feels like I'm
running out of time too

Hi OP just done a quick name change for this .. I’m in the process of moving my yr8 from the best state secondary locally to a fairly average local private school .. I’m doing it because he is unhappy and underachieving .. it doesn’t matter how good a school is if your child isn’t thriving there

I agree with you. It’s the uncertainty that I’m trying to remove and tbh when I think k about how lonely he feels, I know it’s the right thing. Kids, your biggest vulnerability and I just want to fix it

Why is it "low achieving"? On what terms? The time frame matters. Are its markers of achievement sinking, or rising? Is this an indicator of longterm poor standards of behaviour and attendance. Or, were things let slide by previous poor HT who has now been replaced by a bright spark/good leader who is on track to turn the school around? Read the exam results, and the Ofsted reports, for clues.

Does the new school offer the subjects your son might be interested in? And do some of its pupils do well in those subjects in public examinations (which indicates the teaching is good enough). You can check their examination results. If they answer is yes to both, then however bright or studious your son is, he can learn at a level appropriate for him.

Thanks for the message
the value added is probably better than my sons existing school as they have more SEN children and their attainment is not really comparable as they also have more children where English is not a fist language
the teaching is strong and the teachers are passionate - with greater interaction with parents - I know this as I know two teachers that work there really well, and this is also a positive as I know they will look after my son
he is home tosay and he still isn’t happy about school but far more happy at the prospect of having an alternative solution - he wants to move which tells me something about how bad it must be
ive asked if my son can have an ‘education visit’ at the prospective school so he can get a feel for it- let’s hope it’s granted

The start of year 9 is a good time to move. He has time to settle and choose his options so if you are going to move, I’d say do it now. Once he starts his GCSE courses it will be harder to move.
In terms of academic success, he’s less likely to achieve if he isn’t happy, and it’s damaging his MH. If you feel the ‘less attaining’ school may not be enough for him, can you afford to top up with tutors?
I moved my son at the start of Y9 due to bullying and it was the best thing I could have done for him. It’s scary but sometimes a fresh start is what they need.

You got a place because a relative works there ? UK state system?

Hopefully not...

What does he want to do?

I know two teachers who teach there - no preferential treatment just an insight

He wants to leave so I think that’s what we will do
he is actually at the end of year 9 so not great but hopefully this will be great for him

Fingers crossed for him OP - if he wants to move then I think you are doing the right thing .