Would you move your young child from one school to another?

Taadaa

I had to move DS twice as well when at primary. The first time we moved, I left him at his first school and had some family support to get him there, because I moved in with my boyf - now DH- and I wanted him to have a bit of consistency. It was awful to have to move him as he loved his mates and the school, but it was too tiring for both of us to keep travelling there long term. Then we moved to the sticks when DS was 9, so he moved again. I think he found that a little harder as it is a smaller school and the second to last year. But he managed, he has no problem making friends and is quite confident, so it has had some positives. I suppose it's weighing up whether disruption now means more benefits long term.

snowleopard61

We did it because we had no choice about moving areas (tied accommodation which went with husband's job). Our children both coped very well - they were 4 and 6 at the time (the younger one had been in the nursery class of a state school before going into Reception at the new school). They also both went to a state secondary school which was not the catchment school. On each occasion they made good and lasting friendships.

As the area you are considering moving to isn't that far away, you could soften any potential blow by still seeing their old friends from time to time. The reality (IMO) is that they would soon be superseded by new friends, but that's probably healthier in the great scheme of things.

balletshoes

aliasojo wrote: »

From my pov, I think relationships matter at all ages.

However I do believe that when children are young, they do tend to be more 'open' and 'receptive' on the whole and are able to form new friendships more easily than an older child would.

My preference would be to not move a child at all tbh, but if moving is on the cards then it's better to do it earlier rather than later.

Moving at 7 was a problem for you but I wonder if it would have been even worse if you were older?

this is exactly how I feel too. And the OP is only moving a couple of miles away, so its not like the little one can't see his old school friends for playdates etc. And theres not going to be any problems with different accents etc either.

My DD went to a nursery school for 2 years which was provided by my workplace, and before that she was at one not far from work, but not local to home. She didn't go to school with any of her friends from either nursery, as we don't live anywhere near either place. She still remembers both her 2 best friends from her earlier nursery, and quite a few of her friends from the last one. But by the 2nd day of primary school, she'd met new friends and her "best" friends have changed almost every year since.

The difference between then, at age 4,5 etc and now, age 11, is that she has a core of friends who she spends a lot more time with outside of school than she ever did when she was younger. They form part of each other's support system, and thats the big difference, and why it would be a lot harder on her if we moved away now, compared to when she was in the first years of primary school.

Jinx

Yes I would move the child.

I had to consider this a while back - the choice was wait until my daughter was in the summer hols between primary and secondary school to buy a house or move her at the end of primary 5. I decided we would move and it was actually the best move - she had P6 and P7 to make friends and form relationships before they all moved to the secondary school which fed in 5 schools (scary in itself and would have been worse knowing no-one).

daska

I've just moved DS2 to a new school, half way through Reception, though it was a different scenario as I was having big problems with the new Head and we did it on the back of a statement. We worried whether we were doing the correct thing for him (or just for me) but he's so much happier and relaxed than he was at his last school that we don't have a shadow of a doubt that the move has been good for him.

I hope the move goes well.

cottonhead

In my particular circumstance I wouldnt move my child if we moved house as she loves her school and her friends and its a good school She doenst react well to change and I think it would upset her. However I agree with the other posters that most kids are quite resiliant and will do well if moved at a young age. They always seem to have new best friends and talk to anyone.
Dont be too confident of getting a school pace just because you move near the school though. Is your little one at school or not started yet ? If you start one school and then try to change schools prior to starting ( if you have an allocation but havent started already) or move and want to do an in year application it can be tircky sometimes to get a place. However if you dont mind travelling back to the orginal school just stick with it and then decide once you move.

pinkmami

We're moving this summer (only to the next village which already has a primary school) & decided to leave the older 2 in the school were in as they're going to yrs 6 & 4 in September. DS will attend reception too & we thought it wouls be good to leave him there till the girtls attend the secondary school then move him up to the new village school.

Last week I was told (not officially but by a pal on the community council) that they're closing the school in the village we're moving to so I don't intend on moving him at all.

But the intention was there & kids settle in & make pals quickly x