Esther and William are two years old.
They will be 3 in July.
They are due to start school in September 2014.
Our local village school is tiny and I have real concerns about its suitability for Esther and William.
The first class of the school currently has reception, Year 1 and Year 2 all in one class.
This is a huge range and I know that there can be a huge ability range in a single entry class but socially and emotionally I feel it is wrong to put children who are just 4 in a class with children who are already 7.
Esther and William are confident, sociable children and they love older children but I do not want them to be in the same class as children three years older than them.
So what are our choices?
Well, because we literally live opposite the school we do not really have many.
Esther and William currently attend a preschool that is attached to a popular, oversubscribed school that we do not have a chance of getting them in to.
We can express a preference for the school but we know that we do not realistically stand a chance of gaining a place, let alone the two places that we need.
We send them to the village school and hope that the numbers of pupils increase and the school setup can be rearranged.
We home educate or we send Esther and William to private preparatory school.
I have never ever imagined that I would have children that go to private school and yet it has so much to offer.
We have been to look round our local prep school and it was really nice.
I have no idea what to do and I need to make a decision in the next couple of days certainly for preschool.
Do they stay at their current preschool which is lovely and that we all like? They have caring staff that have been so good to us since Tilda died. Esther and William play lots and enjoy the outside space that is provided. I think they will do some letters and numbers there next year but nothing too formal. Here they would attend Monday morning, Tuesday afternoon, Thursday all day and Friday morning.
Do I move them to the pre-prep where the preschool is slightly more formal and has more structured letter and number activities? My reason for doing this would be because I feel they are ready to start learning phonics and being part of a more structured routine. It would also buy us more time as Esther and William could stay in the pre-prep department through reception until we found them a space in a state school that is appropriate for their needs. If they were to move here they would have to attend 5 sessions a week and as we can only use education vouchers in the afternoons they would have to go for five afternoons. And this could be good as I could do messy play with them in the mornings or go out with them and then go to school for the afternoons. It would mean that we would have no week day to ourselves to do things.
I am going round and round in circles and just do not know what to do for the best.
Any thoughts would be much much much appreciated x
School is a tricky one, like the twins, H will start school September 14, which I have lots of concerns about as she will only just be 4 when she starts. I also have my little boy currently in year 1. Like you, our post popular and preferred school is oversubscribed and we didn’t get in, so Z is at a school further away, which has been fine, but I feel like we haven’t had a choice at all as to where they will go.
I think as a parent you know in your heart what is right for your child, but having a school, across the road sounds like the school run at least would be stress free which is a big bonus.
It’s a really tough choice, sorry to not be more help. xxxx
This probably isn’t very helpful but only you know in your heart what and where is best for your children. I think the preprep sounds good and if you wanted to take them out for a day you don’t have to send them every afternoon. It is worth applying to the school they are at now as you never know they may get in, even if you aren’t in catchment. And your local school must be equipped to cope with the vast differing ages in their first class. Sometimes it can help bring younger children on when they are with older ones. I would probably speak to the teachers and head teachers about your concerns as that may help your decision. Al the best with it, it is really hard as you just want the best for them and for them, and you, to be happy. xxx
My children go to a small village school with 2 year groups in one class. It works really well, because the teachers are excellent. I think that is the key to be honest. I think there are pluses to being in a mixed age class- older ones can learn responsibility helping the younger ones and the teaching may stretch the younger ones as long as differentiated. I would go and see the class in action.
As for Preschool, if Esther and William are settled and happy, I wouldn’t change it. I do feel that children naturally find their ‘level’ after a year or so of being at school. Yes, it gives them an advantage to know the letters and numbers before school but a little at home now and then will help anyway.
At the end of the day, you have to follow you gut instinct in both situation. You are a great Mummy and will know what is right for them when the time comes xx
My thoughts, as you know, are similar to yours. I would not want Luka in a class of 7 year olds as the age difference is too great. He will be one of the older kids when he starts and I actually think mixed year groups have lots of benefits. But the age range from reception to year 2 is too great. Personally, I would go with the private prep school and bide your time. I would say home ed but I’m not sure ( and this is based on ME and MY situation) I could commit to that fully. I also think that I would crave a little time away from Luka myself. Sounds awful but I think our relationship works better with a little space.
I’m not sure if any of that helps, but that’s what I would do. I think you need to put yourself first a little here too. If you think that home schooling might provide the distraction or the stimulation that you need, then go for it. If you know that you will need a little time and space then consider the prep school. I think you already know the local school is not right. Maybe after 12 months or so you can re-consider the home schooling.
We are at the moment trying to find a suitable school for Luka as we are not happy with the junior school Eva is at and we don’t want Luka to attend infants then change schools for juniors. It is certainly a nightmare and such an important decision but I am sure you will make the right one
xxxx
Jennie that was our dilemma we wanted private education for our children but our eldest was on the waiting list for this particular school we absolutely loved, we weren’t sure wether he would get a place so we applied to our local school as well, fortunately in that time our eldest got offered a place at the private school we loved, our local school is the best school in the area but we didn’t like the classes being mixed up or the fact that the class sizes are so big. it turned out that we didn’t get a place in our local school anyway and got offered a place at the worst school in our area miles away from us instead, so going private was a very easy decision to make in the end, and we know it’s the best decision we have ever made, our eldest has just won a scholarship and has done amazing in the time he has been there!
Oh Jennie, I am sorry you are stressed. There are so many things I want to say that I don’t know where to start!
I feel that 4 is far too young to start school and I wish I hadn’t done it with my first child, just because it was expected. It was a miserable time and led to us home educating, so I know I am biased, but I really knew in my heart it was wrong to send him, so if that is how you feel then follow your heart and don’t make the mistake I made. I will always regret it.
I am really interested in your concerns about the village school. One of the things that bothered me about the schools near us is that they are so big and busy with class sizes of 30 or more and several classes in each year group. I think this is a very stressful environment for some children, so if I had to send my children to school I imagine (without knowing much about it) that a village school would be the lesser of several evils! I can’t decide what I think about the mixed-age classes. In our home ed group we have children aged from newborn to 10 years and they learn and play together extremely well. It is lovely to watch and for me far better than classes focussed around age ranges. However that is with parents present to iron out any difficulties (though there are rarely any) so perhaps it is quite different to a school situation. I can see some positives though. My 3yo and 7yo are currently playing restaurants. The 3yo is the chef and the 7yo is the waiter (he is doing lots of writing!!) They are both so clearly learning and I love to see the older one helping the little one. It’s probably idealistic but maybe some elements of this could apply in a village school?
If Esther and William enjoy their pre-school I would say don’t move them to another pre-school/ nursery. That was another one of my mistakes with my poor first child when I didn’t know any better. He was happy at pre-school doing 3 mornings and we moved him to a school nursery where he had to do 5 afternoons. It was okay but he didn’t like it as much, and 5 days a week was definitely too tiring for him. Writing this is making me feel guilty, but I just didn’t know then what I know now. The benefits of hindsight… Feel free to learn from my mistakes. I have plenty 😉
Could you keep them at their current pre-school for now, then after that home educate and also put them on the waiting list for your preferred school while you see how you get on with home ed? Then you will probably love it and can have the pleasure of doing what we did – we turned down places for the boys at the very popular over-subscribed church school that we never thought they would get into, because home ed was going so well by that time!
Feel free to ask me any questions you like about home ed, but also to ignore my advice completely if it doesn’t fit with how you feel. Only you can work out what is best for your family xxxx
My child is also due to start school in 2014. I know the village school you speak of, and my child will in all likelihood go there. For various reasons we are not considering the prep school, and our choice of state schools will be limited by our close proximity to 2 small local schools.
I have exactly the same concerns as you about the local school. However, I have spoken to parents of current children, and they all speak highly of the school and its staff, and all say how much their children enjoy going there and benefit from the caring, nurturing environment that exists.
The class structure varies depending on the number of children in each year, so I hope that with a good intake this year and next, this is something that could possibly be addressed.
I would like to support the local community and am aware that if the local people do not use the school, long term the future is bleak. I would hope that with a small school, we would have the opportunity to get involved and support it in becoming the best it can be, and creating an environment where our children can flourish. However, this “community spirit” has to be balanced by what is best for our own individual children.
Good luck with whatever you decide, I suspect there is no perfect solution- if you find one, please let me know!
So tricky to know what to do for the best isn’t it, my son is 3.4 now and also due to start school next year, we couldn’t work out what to do for best, the school we wanted them to go to is just outside our catchment, the other schools too big for my liking. We spent about a year wondering and worrying and finally decided home education is the right way for us. After all we already do it and its working out nicely.
I hope you find the right solution for you and your family xx
Oh this is so hard, I really feel for you. I’m not sure what I can say to help except…once you make a decision, a final decision I’m sure you will know in your heart if it is the right one. Does that make sense? And personally as a teacher and a parent, my feelings would also be that reception, year 1 and year 2 children all in the same class is possibly too much. Differentiation is so difficult, even in a class of pupils all of the same age. Have you visited both schools, do you have a gut instinct? I hope you can make a decision soon Xx
It might be an avenue you’ve looked at already, but would you be able to appeal in favour of the popular school using the basis that Esther and William have effectively jumped a year due to the prematurity making it even less suitable to share a class with older children? The preschool may be able to submit a statement also to the LA backing you up that it would benefit them the most. I know Bliss have been doing work recently about prematurity effecting school admissions so they might have some more helpful pointers!
I agree that Rec, Y1 and Y2 in one class is not ideal. From your blog it is clear that they are ready for more formal learning and structure and could handle it. I think you should discount the local school until they are y1 and send them to the prep for Fs1 and 2 keeping in mind that you can do less formal, more sensory activities every morning for the next whole year. Once they have completed FS, take another view on the local school. The only drawback is the lack of whole day with you BUT you still have the weekend and you will gain very regular ‘me’ time which you definitely need and deserve. I would take them for a few taster sessions at the prep to get a better feel for how they will like it as this will make you feel more confident about your decision. Remember, you can always change your mind. X
It’s such a huge decision isn’t it-Alex also starts Sept 2014 however he’s 5 in the Nov so will be one of the older ones.
This year I made the decision not to apply for the school nursery for this coming Sept, as much as I liked it there the 5 mornings or 5 afternoons just didn’t fit well with me. I enjoy having a day off from school runs whilst I still can and also enjoy the full day he does the most, it’s nice for me to just be with Sam for a bit too as well as being able to get much more done as I don’t drive so lots of little sessions are taken mostly by me walking! He’s happy where he is and seems settled, my only worry is that he may outgrow it later next school year. Personally I don’t think he would have coped with 5 mornings/afternoons either as he is so tired after the sessions he does now, is that something that might effect the twins also?
Our main problem is all our schools are over subscribed here and the classes have 30+ children in and often 2 forms which I son’t particularly like. And as we are planning on being able to move in the next few years I don’t want to put him in a school to then have to change him again! The village school in some ways may be ok in the sense that class numbers are lower, although it is a big age range at that level of learning and abilities.
You probably have done this, but did they go with you to view any of the places? It might help you get a gut instinct of what fits in with you and what you think they will both get along with best. Like someone else put I think, maybe speak your concerns to the village school?
Sorry I probably haven’t been much help, but I think follow your gut instinct, maybe even write a pro and con list with your husband. It’s such a horrible decision to make (they should put these sort of things in the antenatal classes)! Good luck! xx
Please don’t worry about phonics at this young age. They will have plenty at whichever school they go to. Lots of books and stories and play are best. I would go with the local school and trust them to sort out the challenge of mixed age teaching. I am sure there are many positive aspects to it.. I am sure you know how creative teachers can be. If they are happy at their pre school why not let them stay?
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I hope I’m not too late but staying at pre-school sounds to me like by far your best option. Jake & Ellie (now nearly 3 years & 3 months) have been going to pre-school since April & they love it. They’re with about 10 children their own age (20 from September, assuming they are accepted), they’re making new friends, doing fun activities & doing a bit of learning. We loved it when they came home singing a counting song in Welsh! Pre-prep sounds way too formal & stressful to me; in my opinion 3 is way too young for anything so serious.
Hope you can find the right option for Willaim & Esther!