School starting age, please advise

balletshoes

Soniclord wrote: »

I'm assuming nothing, I'm basing it on fact, it's smack bang in the middle of a disgusting housing estate and my child will NOT be going there FACT! Things may change, people may change, teachers may change (unlikely) pupils change etc etc but we already know that! In such schools wrapped around such dire housing estates the pupils change for even worse scumbag kids whose parents don't give a damn, I will NOT even allow my child to be anywhere near such scum. That's not open to discussion as far as I'm concerned.

oh dear .....
For the record, my daughter's school is slap bang in the middle of a council housing estate, its a larger than average primary school, and despite this, its always been a good, supportive and generally nonsense-free environment. It was, when she started, in the top 5 primary schools for results and Ofsted reports in the city. The top sets in each year are working well ahead of national averages, despite the Ofsted reports continually reporting that when the children enter school at nursery/reception stage the level is generally below average attainment. Are there some scumbag kids and their parents? Yep, there are. Are they the majority? Nope, not at all.

Parents have the right to send their children to whichever school they like, if there are spaces. You may well find a similar percentage of what you class "scumbag kids" at the school of your choice - scumbag kids are not the sole product of housing estates. God I remember a boy at my rural village primary school, he was almost feral!

OP you'll make the decisions you feel are right for your children all the way through their childhoods, and thats fine. Just saying, just because they are housing estate kids, doesn't automatically make them scumbags.

bestpud

I learnt the hard way about schools with a low socio-economic catchment so I see where the OP is coming from tbh. Not all families were trouble but the vast majority were and, having watched my older children deal with the fallout from crud parents, I vowed my youngest will go to our catchment schools over my dead body!

I am not a snob - I live in social housing and rely on tax credits as we both have manual jobs. However, I know enough to realise the catchment area does matter - a lot!!

That said, 'middle-class' parents produce offspring with different 'problems', so it's not all rosy wherever you go!

On the whole though, I urge any parent to be very careful about choosing a school fed by a council estate, and be even more careful if that estate has issues with anti- social behaviour and/or crime.

As I said, that is my opinion but is based on recent experience. Some will have positive stories to tell though, obviously.

dangers

OP - just a thought - have you had sight of your children's learning diaries? The nursery should be completing it for both your children.
By the way, this is something totally different to a daily diary that they may complete - it covers the 6 areas of learning.

plumpmouse

Soniclord wrote: »

Also I have a question about this whole deferring for a year as it says the below taken from the Admissions Policy PDF on the Doncaster.Gov website,

"Deferred Entry

Where parents apply for admission to a reception class for a child who is not of statutory school age, and parents wish to defer entry, a child should be admitted to the class no later than the beginning of the summer term in the reception year.

Parents can request that their child attends part-time until the child reaches compulsory school age and the request will be considered where it appears to be in the best interest of the child."

That's just if my child was deemed too young for school though right?? I mean because it says "A child who not of statutory school age" they don't make things easy do they. Bloody councils!

I always thought and I may be incorrect that children had to start school at some point in the reception year. So from what I thought (and again it could be wrong) your child would need to start school following the Easter holidays 2012 at the latest.

Again and judging by some comments on this thread this could be incorrect.

I would ring the LEA to get clear advice on when she would have to start rather than asking on here as more often than not you receive an overwhelming amount of differing opinions many of which (like mine possibly) will be incorrect/outdated.

picnmix

plumpmouse wrote: »

I always thought and I may be incorrect that children had to start school at some point in the reception year. So from what I thought (and again it could be wrong) your child would need to start school following the Easter holidays 2012 at the latest.

Again and judging by some comments on this thread this could be incorrect.

I would ring the LEA to get clear advice on when she would have to start rather than asking on here as more often than not you receive an overwhelming amount of differing opinions many of which (like mine possibly) will be incorrect/outdated.

This was my thinking as well, I work in primary schools and had always been under the impression if parents did decide to defer that at some stage in the reception year the child should attend, be that the start of Jan or following Easter. Talking to my colleagues in the school the general idea is that they settle into school routines before the start of year one.

As far as the quote regarding the "type" of intake to the schools (I can't even begin to refer to any child in the way the OP does) I have to say I am completely shocked of your attitudes. All state schools have a mixutre of social backgrounds (believe me it makes no difference of the type of housing estates people live in). I found the comments very sad.

My own 2 DD have friends from a mixture of backgrounds, which personally I encourage, so they are aware of the differances in peoples lives within their environment and area and that everyone does not have the same advantages as they may have. I would never tell my children who they should and should not be friends with, I certainly would not judge this on their address.

onlyroz

Haven't read all the replies but I am also astounded that you didn't know about the school starting arrangements - the LEA should probably have told you, but if not then I'm astounded that you didn't try to find out for yourself.

Regarding nursery vs reception class, I'd choose reception every time. My son was also a may baby and I had a choice between keeping him in his (excellent) private nursery or sending him into reception class. I chose reception and I'm so glad that I did - otherwise I am sure that by now he would have been well behind in his reading and writing. Yes, the nursery made a start with teaching him his letters, but it wasn't in the formalised structured way that the school did it. In reception he spent the mornings in "lessons", cracking on with learning to read and do simple maths, and the afternoons in structured play activities. At nursery he would have missed out on this structure and would also have missed out on forming his friendship groups and getting used to the school routine.

Spendless

blue_monkey wrote: »

Wow. That year is just a few less than my kids entire school.

Even the schools in town do not have that many kids in each year.

However, in that case, how is the OP going to stop his daughter mixing with children like this as he has quoted:

I'm assuming nothing, I'm basing it on fact, it's smack bang in the middle of a disgusting housing estate and my child will NOT be going there FACT! Things may change, people may change, teachers may change (unlikely) pupils change etc etc but we already know that! In such schools wrapped around such dire housing estates the pupils change for even worse scumbag kids whose parents don't give a damn, I will NOT even allow my child to be anywhere near such scum. That's not open to discussion as far as I'm concerned.

I actually shudder whenever I read this. This poor child is never going to have any friends with that attitude. What an absolute shame. What is he going to do? Vet each of the 500 pupils to see if they are 'worthy' of the contact they have with his child and go and tell the teachers who she can and cannot have contact with - especially the council house scum that might also have applied.

There is a place for the likes of the OP and their children and that is private school but it looks like he is too poor to afford that option as he is looking for a state school. After all, that would give her the very best of the best and there would be no mixing with chavvy council estate scum there. Still, I guess beggars can't be choosers and all that. Obviously not as high up to social ladder as he likes to think he is. Pity that poor child of his. Good at reading and writing she might be but told who she can and cannot be friends with for her entire life - she is going to be screwed psychologically!!

Not all years are that big. My son's year (yr 6) has around 85 children in it over 3 classess, my daughter's (yr 3) around 68 over 2 classes. Whilst some schools are 1 class, 1 year I think the majoirty are 2 classess per year, and some stretching to 3 classess, though perhaps not in every year just where there is a 'boom'. As you point out, it is likely to fetch a wide range in varients.

blue_monkey_2

Spendless wrote: »

Not all years are that big. My son's year (yr 6) has around 85 children in it over 3 classess, my daughter's (yr 3) around 68 over 2 classes. Whilst some schools are 1 class, 1 year I think the majoirty are 2 classess per year, and some stretching to 3 classess, though perhaps not in every year just where there is a 'boom'. As you point out, it is likely to fetch a wide range in varients.

Ah, but the question is. Are there any council house chav types there. It'll not do you know!! Mixing ith the 'poor' that live on housing estates.

I think I'd still choose a small school over a big school. We go to a church school and it is a very nurturing school, they have been excellent at helping with my sons disabilities - something else that would probably horrify the OP, disabled kids in with the 'normal ones.

My friend works in a school on the posh side of town and it has more than it's fair share of 'council estate' kids, the types that the OP is adamant his child will not mix with.

FBaby

I am very surprise that keeping a child who is supposedly mature and quite advance in nursery be something one would consider. I don't know any parent who has made that decision, so unless things are very different in OP's town, I would think that child is going to find themselves with children much younger and less advanced. This is bound to be very frustrating for the child as well as the staff which is not trained to cater for the need of a school age child.

I understand the concern about the school, but surely, considering you are bound to be moving shortly and your child will then be able to go to an excellent school, does it really matter? She won't see those 'bad' kids any longer and poor teaching can't be worse than no teaching at all.

snugglepet20

My son is 5 at the end of August and he is just finishing his reception year. I think school has been good for him and helped his social development as well as his education. I think the OP should quickly have a look at his local schools and decide which ones offer a nice environment and have a space before he judges. It also should be noted that keeping a child back does not necessarily mean she will go into year one, she could be put into reception next year as there is a big leap between nursery and school in terms of expected behaviour, sitting still etc, in which case she will always be older than the other children and this could cause problems.