Today is the day my child should embark on his first day of Primary School. He should be walking through the gates sporting a new uniform, anxious, excited and nervous all rolled into one. I should be dropping him off donning my brave face only to fall apart weeping in the car. Today should be a big milestone, a day we will always look back on but we won’t have this memory because I won’t be sending my child to school today.
Choosing the Right School
Education is important. I am lucky to live in a country where education is free and readily available. Every child deserves the best start possible because these are decisions that will shape their future. However, the school system isn’t the same standard everywhere. In fact, it’s very much like location lottery as to whether you get a ‘good’ school or not. I don’t for a second believe my child is any better than anyone else (well of course I do because I’m his mum..) but he does, like everyone deserve to go to the best possible school with the best chance at life.
When it came to choosing schools I procrastinated horrifically but I put my big girl pants on and got on with it. It’s not just about Ofsted reports and recommendations it’s just as much about finding a school that’s the right fit for your child, after all, they have to attend for a good few years.
Sadly, when decision time loomed, we did not get a place at our first or second choice school. Our third choice was granted but if I’m honest I put this option on a whim and after visiting realised that it wasn’t right. So I was left with a rather tough choice either I send him to a school I’m not happy with and one I feel isn’t performing well and isn’t the right fit or I wait the process out.
Homeschooling
My husband and I discussed homeschooling as an option while we wait out our time on the list. If I’m honest, I couldn’t bear trying to get him settled in a school temporarily only to pull him out again. Not to mention my previous concerns of underperformance and being the wrong fit. Homeschooling can be truly enlightening for a child and there a lots of life skills you don’t learn in school.
I’ve had a mixed reaction when I say we are homeschooling. Often people say ‘Oh I didn’t know you were a teacher?’ ultimately I’m guiding him through a few months of reception not coaching him through his doctorate!
Now, all of this would be fine if it wasn’t for the fact that my child is desperate to start school. He is oddly excited and eager to be joining big school and yet I don’t have the heart to tell him that today is the day but not for him. I blame myself for not thinking about this when we moved almost 6 years ago when he was just a tiny seed. I feel like I’m failing him and I’m not sure what else we can do. So we will wait until Henry gets granted his first day at school.
UPDATE: Since writing this post there is an update you may be interested in.
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