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[kitchens]

I wondered if anyone could offer me some advice. I am thinking of moving my son who is 5 and in reception to another primary school. Does anyone know the correct procedure? I haven't mentioned it to him yet as I know he will blurt it out in the playground or even tell his teacher. Do I just make enquiries at school of choice to see if they have any places/waiting list. Do I tell current school when all that is sorted?

 

Help

 

Thanks

[tiggerlady]

Its been a while (my youngest is 20 ) but I think it depends on your local authority. I would approach your county council first as they would know how long the waitlist is for that school and the correct procedures that may need to be done.Depending on the circumstances for leaving the school they may or may not be able to get you in a bit quicker,I would have thought. Good luck with it!

[missuscluck]

I would ring the schools you would like potentialy to move him to and enquire if they have any places in your son's year group and if they have, ask if you can go and see the school.

 

I moved my son at the end of his reception year as we moved house and we had no trouble at all. They adapt well at such a young age.

[Seagazer]

All I did when I moved was to ring the new school and ask if they had any places. It was really simple. Is it because you are moving or do you not like his primary school?

[LJ's Chooks]

We are just doing this.... our oldest (nearly 5) is at private school and we are pulling him out to go to a state school. We have been lucky in that our catchment school is rubbish, be we called another school and got him a place... it really was right place at the right time. He starts after the half term break.

 

All we did was phone the school we wanted and they had a space. I dont think it is always that easy though.

 

There will be no secrets though.... it was blerted out in the playground the day he visited the new school....!!!!

 

good luck.

[KateG]

It may depend on where you are.

 

As you know, the way they allocte schools has changed to the 3 choice system. Last year, each school was allowed to allocate any left over spaces at their own discretion. However this year, it all has to go through the county council. I believe this is also the case with children moving schools.

 

Best bet is to give your county council a ring.

 

I hope you find a good school with spaces.

[kitchens]

It's a bit difficult to explain so I hope this makes sense.

 

Currently he is at our local school. Good school, he is happy. I sent him there on the basis that he is an only child and most of the children in his pre school went on to this school. However ..... I was originally going to send him to a local Catholic primary but because of my anxiety that he should stay with his friends I didn't. But I have had niggling doubts ever since and they won't go away, they just get bigger. Basically I want him to have the education I had and I want the faith element to be part of his education. There is only one school I want him to go to and I am going to have a look at it next week, but if they can't take him I shall leave him where he is as I previously mentioned his current school is a good school too.

 

Bit wierd though. The secretary told me there were currently no spaces for his year group and no waiting list but I was welcome to take a look at the school. They have asked that I write to my current headteacher to explain what I am doing and they have asked me to bring my son with me. Surely if they had nothing to offer they wouldn't insist I go to these lengths?

[AnnieP]

Hello there!

I teach in a primary school and you did the right thing to contact the school you wish for him to go to and ask whether they have places or not.

As a word of advice, if the schools are local to one another, in my area, when we show a parent from another school around, we ALWAYS phone the existing school to make them aware of the visit: We would not want our other local schools to think we are "poaching" their children or being underhand in any way, so the chances are, if you haven't told your son's school of your visit, the school you have shown an interest in may very well have done so anyway, to maintain a positive relationship.

 

I hope you can get what is right for you and your son. I am SO glad I don't have children!

[Willow]

As a word of advice, if the schools are local to one another, in my area, when we show a parent from another school around, we ALWAYS phone the existing school to make them aware of the visit: We would not want our other local schools to think we are "poaching" their children or being underhand in any way, so the chances are, if you haven't told your son's school of your visit, the school you have shown an interest in may very well have done so anyway, to maintain a positive relationship.

 

Am I alone in finding this rather underhand from a parental point of view ?

 

If you are considering moving your child because you are dis-satisfied with their current school it will only further damage that relationship to be pre-empted in telling them you're looking at alternatives by the school(s) you're visiting. Bearing in mind you may not move your child in the end and may be reviewing a number of options before making a decision.

 

It would not occur to me I'd have to ask a school I was visiting to keep it confidential. I would have assumed it came under existing privacy codes of practice.

[Guest]

I moved James in his first term at reception. We were lucky, we were moving and the lovely village school agreed to take him before we moved (although they were full and could only take a child moving into catchment). We moved him at October half term and moved into our house at the end of November. I didn't say a thing to his old school and I would have been HORRIFIED if the new school had - I made it clear to them that I was unhappy with his current school and would be removing him even if there was no place until we moved in (reception is NOT compusory and he was not learning anything in the few hours a day he was there).

 

When he did leave I took time off to pick him up on the last day of school (he was part time so finished in the MIDDLE of my school day!) I went in and told the teacher that he wouldn't be coming back after the holidays, thanked her for the time he had spent there and said no more. I believe she was well aware that I was unhappy with both her teaching and the school's general lack of care, I had made several complaints.

[chickenanne]

Maybe I'm naive, but teachers are professionals. There are surely very few (I'd like to say none) that would "take it out on" the child if the parents were critical of the school, looking to move schools, or even if they were "nightmare parents" (I'm absolutely not suggesting this applies here!).

[Guest]

You'd think wouldn't you? TBH when I come across a "nightmare parent" I just feel sorry for the child even though it usually explains their terrible behaviour.

 

When James was in that school where they were unsupportive there was one incident which I am certain to this day they did to be awkward, knowing it would cause me maximum inconvenience. The teacher was also repeatedly saying she was available to talk to parents "every day" but this only meant if YOU could be there between 12.30 and 1pm directly the class finished. At all other times she was unavailable (before school, after school, during afternoon lessons when she did cover as her class had gone home). After I made a fuss about this she made James sit in reception until I picked him up because he had an ear infection and was touching his ear then touching the toys and "would infect the other children" If he had been given a tissue and instructions he would have wiped his ear and thrown it in the bin! I was called in school at 11.30 when his father was due to pick him up at 12.30 and I was told he would be sitting in reception until one of us came. I explained that I was 1/2 hour away and would have to get someone to cover my class and that his father wouldn't answer the phone to me if I tried to call and was just told they would leave James in reception till I got there as she "REFUSED" to have him in the class.

 

I made an official complaint about this whole issue but they are pretty pointless. An ear infection isn't catching and he was on antibiotics for it! She really didnt' like me though as I'd kept questioning about when his IEP was going to be done and what support he was getting (her answer was that there were other children in the class with needs too!). At the time James was still barely talking and didn't have enough words for a sentance so obviously I was concerned he would be easily overlooked/lost/bullied.

 

Moving him to a village school made a HUGE difference - he had an IEP in a week and I got communicated with as they were aware he doesnt. I still do actually even though he can talke he won't talk about school so his teacher sends me an email every friday to let me know how the week has gone.

[Willow]

When I moved my boys it was because I got a home-working contract so the local school that didn't have an afterschool club was a better option for us as a family. I was happy with their old school and didn't even know if I could get a place for each as juior and infants are separate schools. I didn't mention it to the school they were leaving until it was sorted as it may not have been an option. It didn't occur to me that they may have been told when I rang the new school and I would have been very embarassed if I hadn't been able to move my boys but the school know I was thinking about it however as I hadn't told them they couldn't ask why. In the event obviously I did move my children and wrote a nice letter to the school explaining it was for convenience and telling them how much we still liked the school.

 

To get back to the point that whilst you would hope teachers are always professional they are only human with off days just like the rest of us so I don't expect them to be superhuman. And I have seen some appalling behaviour by some teachers (and parents) over the years (including when I was at school). Sometimes the relationship breaks down and however hard a teacher would try not to let it affect them to know the parents were looking elsewhere on the quiet it would affect how they viewed the child.

[abwsco]

When I moved mine from thier Primary school the new head rang the old one. This was only done after I had told the old head that they would be taken out of her school the next day.

[kitchens]

Well I have handed in a letter to the head of current school telling them DS shall be late for school next tuesday. The school I am going to see told me to notify current school so I thought letter be the best way. The letter was nice and friendly because if he does not get accepted into new school then he will stay where he is. My sole reason for moving him to new school is because it is a catholic school and current school is not. Roll on Tuesday

 

Still a bit anxious that there are no places and no waiting list and yet I've had to go to the trouble of telling current school and explaining to DS that he 'might' be going to a new school???

[Willow]

Still a bit anxious that there are no places and no waiting list and yet I've had to go to the trouble of telling current school and explaining to DS that he 'might' be going to a new school???

 

Very stressful and a bit odd

 

I was lucky that when I moved mine although I'd missed the date to apply for my youngest son and they were over subscribed we live right outside the gate and every morning the head could see us get in the car and drive our children off to another school past all her parents driving in so she really really wanted to take him.

 

I went the other way and moved mine from Catholic school to village schools