Please help me understand UK education system

Sunny_Angel

In a nutshell:
In the last week or so we have decided to move to (return) to the Uk in August!

I have a daughter who will turn 5 at the beginning of December, and have no idea about the best way to get her into a (decent) school. I never registered her for a school while living there as i believed we wouldn't be living there once she would be at school age.

At the moment we are looking at properties and likely to view some next week during a quick visit but at this stage we will probably end up renting due to the length of time taken to complete a house purchase. This leaves me very confused as we may rent in a different catchment area to where we end up buying, obviously i dont want to move her from school to school.

I have loads of qeustions about the whole process, especially trying to sort it at this late stage as opposed to registering her as soon as she was born, and just dont know where to start, please can anyone advise?....

TIA
Sunny Angel

MoaningMyrtle

I think it may vay slightly from County to County, but your daughter will be starting in Reception Class. The school year will consist of all children born between 1st September 2002 and 31st August 2003. She will probably start part-time, quickly increasing to full time (9am until 3.15pm here).

You need to look at the Ofsted reports for scools in the area you are looking to move to. Then telephone the school to see if they have any places, they may have a waiting list. (They use different criteria for selecting pupils, eg siblings at school, catchment area, if they are christened if it is a church school) Some factors have higher priorities, so you may struggle to get into a good school if it us oversubscribed, even if it is the school for your road/village/town.

That's all I can think of at this late hour, any more questions, please ask.
Most schools will have their own website.

Sunny_Angel

Thanks Myrtle, thats a great help to start with. :beer: :T
Will have a look at ofsted tommorrow, and see whats it says...

You are right though it is late so i am off to my bed and will check in the morning for any more advice.

flossy_splodge

Can I suggest that before you look at ANY schools you decide WHAT exactly you want from a school for your daughter. There are many considerations here. Do you feel that the most academic school with the highest pass rate at SAT's or GCSE's is the crucial factor or does your daughter have any particular needs like being especially bright or having hearing difficulties etc etc? A school that meets one set of needs does not necessarily meet another. Just today whilst with my father in hospital I was talking to his audiologist who told me the following tale: her 8 year old daughter had a fall at school. She told the teacher her arm hurt. The teacher mocked her and called her a "drama queen". Her complaints of pain were ignored for the following 4 1/2 hours of the school day. When the parent arrived the teacher mocked the child further by telling the parent they would earmark the next lead role in the school play for such a drama queen! Yep you've guessed. When home, the parent examined her childs arm, was worried so took her to A&E and surprise....the arm was broken and ended up in a cast for the rest of term (8 weeks or so.). The school in question has a "good" reputation for "excellent" school results. Personally I'd rather have my child kept safe. I moved both my children several times in their education if I felt it was necessary. One is now studying for a PhD and the other living and working in Italy. So please PLEASE do not think that if, when you choose, you later think you got it wrong, that you are stuck with it. You are NOT. Please take note of things like how the children seem to react to the staff when you go on a school visit. Ofsted reports lean heavily on academic achievements, there are more important things to consider. Good luck. If you'll be in the Midlands I could help with specifics and if not, others on these forums could, I'm sure.:T

oramgepekoe

I would get in contact with the education department of the county you are intending to move to and ask which schools have places and what is the procedure for applying.

Spendless

I would agree with the last poster. I have had the letter confirming my daughters reception place since April this year and some schools may be full by now.

Kimitatsu

When we moved from Essex to Lincolnshire, I rang the education dept and asked about the nearest 5 schools to a certain area, how many there were in the school etc.

Like you we were flying blind a bit although my two had already started school. I then looked up the Ofsted reports, not to look for academic reasons but to see how things like grounds, play equipment etc were talked about and the ethos of the school.

I eventually setlled on two to go and look at, one which had an oustanding Ofsted report (that by the way is the report on each school after it is inspected by the dept for education to make sure it is doing the right thing) but was not suitable for my boys because there was no room to play and the school itself I felt was too small for my children. I setlled on a school that I felt they would settle into, with lots of room to play a lovely atmospheere and although the Ofsted was not great they have settled in well and have continued to thrive.

You can also look up reviews on https://www.schoolsnet.com where parents are encouraged to review their school.

As long as your child is happy at school then the rest is a secondary issue I think!

Good luck!!

pinkshoes

North Lincs has a strange school system, as the county is made up of lots of small towns/villages, which each have one primary school, and kids tend to go to the one in the village they live in. I think some of the schools have about 30 pupils, so younger pupils will share classrooms with kids a few years older.


Finding a school that meets your childs needs is the most important thing. I had to change primary school in Lincolnshire when we moved house. My first school (very small) let me do maths with the older kids because i was very good at it, but the 2nd school (just 4 miles away) didn't know what to do with me, and made me repeat 2 years of maths. I hated it, and was made to feel awkward rather than gifted.

exprog

The most important (and sometimes the only) determinant will probably be whether you live in a school's catchment area. Staying in one area and trying to get your child into a school in a different area will probably only work if the school has spare places which it probably will not if it is a popular school.

Use Ofsted reports with caution. They have there own agenda heavily influenced by the governments determination to have everyone passing increasingly dumbed down and meaniningless 'tests'.

Justie

it depends a lot on where you're moving to - catchment areas get a lot of publicity but are more relevant to secondary schools that primary as there are fewer of them. In general with primary ones you want to look at the local schools rather than finding the *perfect* school but then having to travel a long way to it and then your child ends up not being near friends for social activities. As has been said - work out what you want for your child do you want to concentrate on academic skills or is the ambiance of a school more important? Best bet is to work out where you're moving to and then looking at schoolnet and some of the parenting sites to see what you can find out about the local area and the impressions of the schools.

Sunny_Angel

Thank you so much everyone for taking the time to read my op and reply.:T

Flossy- what an insightful post. Up to now i had believed the only relevant thing i could research were the ofsted reports, after all it is a government run system right?:rolleyes:
But you are quite right, after years of being bullied at school i completely see the relevance of your post but feel somewhat at a loss as to how i can figure out these other important aspects of a school, without experience of putting my daughter into that school IYSWIM. I guess i just want her to reach her full potential in academia and lifeskills, what parent dosent i guess. But i have no burning desire for her to be at a school pushy for music/sports/ or anything else specific....

BTW we are moving to the Northampton area, is that classed as midlands?
This is not the area i lived in previously so i have no idea about it at all!

Oramgepekoe and Spendless- thanks for your suggestion, i have just googled and found the countys education website which seems quite informative, will phone once i have a list of questions that i cant find the answer to on there.

Kimi- flying blind is such an apt description, it made me have a eureka moment as to how all this feels right now;)
I also feel like i am trying to figure out if the chicken came before the egg or vice versa, ie find a house(rent or buy?), pick a school, will it have a place?? Or find a school place then house.......
I am guessing at this stage that one will just happen and then we can work on the other from there.
Will also check out tht website...

Exprog- you are quite right of couse, children can and do move school, but i just wanted to get it right form the start IYKWIM. This will be a second major move for them in just 12 months and i would like them to have some stability.

Justie thanks also for your input another valid point re proximity of friends!

It must have been so much easier for my parents, in a tiny village only one school so that was THE school, no decision to be made or debate over...oh well, thanks for all the advice, more welcome naturally:o