I’m going round in circles and could really do with some advice and wisdom here, especially from secondary school teachers and experienced parents.
we live in an area dominated by academy schools, all of which are pretty pressured and strict (it seems to me)
DD (10) is extremely well behaved and tends towards anxious. She’s very motivated by teacher praise and reward (and gets a lot of it). She has a slight learning disability in that she’s averagely bright but finds focus and process hard so can be slow to pick things up although she tries extremely hard.
Right now she is at a primary that is relaxed about things like attainment and uniform but quite strict on behaviour. They have been very kind to DD and she’s loved it throughout.
So what to make of the strict academies? She likes structure and routine, she’s not fussed about some rules at primary that other kids chafe at - for eg silence in corridors, silence at line up, sitting up straight and tracking the teacher.
But she would stress about not being allowed to use the toilet when she needs it, or getting told off for dropping a pencil. She would be utterly mortified to get a detention.
Part of me wants to smuggle her off to a liberal private school but most of me wants to give state a try and trust that the teachers will see how hard she tries and not shame or punish her if she makes a genuine mistake.
what would you do if you were me.