Do you opt for a school closer because your a single parent?regardless of quality

[stripeycat13]

do your choices narrow because your on your own and you have to manage?

[Tortoiseturtle]

I opted for a school near where I work, to fit in with work.

[revealall]

If you work it helps. Making friends with local parents helps tremendously on INSET Days, sick days and for after school clubs and play dates.
Tortoise has a good plan too although on days when the car was broken down or I had flu it would have meant both of us missing work and school. I would do a school near work if my local one wasn't 't very good though.
If I didn't go to work I'd send them to the best one I could get to though.

[Daisy321]

I did send my kids to a school which was within walking distance to where we live, but my DD hated it...the parents were awful, they were very clique-y and the kids were even worse...my dd kept getting her fingers "accidentally" shut in doors, and they would say horrible mean things to her.

After two years I'd had enough and sent them to a school in the next village, it means I have to drive there, but it's totally worth it. My dd and ds have a lot of friends and are doing really well.

Obviously this is just my own experience, but all I can say is, in my opinion, the quality of the school far outweighs the fact it is located nearer to home.

[Letitgoletitgo]

Er, can you anyway? My dcs wouldn't have got into any school other than our closest due to catchments etc? If I'd tried to get one nearer my work there would be no chance.

[equinox]

I feel it is more important to get our children into the right school for their needs for as long as the journey is feasible, even if it is a little further. You will only spend all your time worrying about their issues and the lack of support provision if not.

HTH.

[giantpurplepeopleeater]

I'm not sure what being a single parent has to do with it? I would have though it's based on your own personal needs and restrictions.

I also think it all depends on how you decide on the quality of the school, and what you are your children's needs and restrictions are.

I don't believe that Ofsted reports are a particularly good indicator of a schools 'quality' in the same way that exam leagues aren't. Also, even if there is a brilliantly rated school, they aren't the best one for your child if they can't meet her specific needs or aren't the right environment, if you see what I mean.

Personally, as I live quite rurally, have to travel to work, and have use of a car, the distance of a school won't be such an issue for me. Despite being on the edge of a small-ish town, there are still a number of schools to chose from within a short distance as there are a few village schools, so I'm not convinced I will opt for the closest.

I'm more concerned about a school where I think DS will fit in and get along well. I'm planning on doing some visits and open days next term to have a look and see what I think.

However, if your circumstances mean that distance will be an issue for you, then making that a priority factor in your decisions isn't wrong at all.

[starlight1234]

My DS is at local school, not because of Ofsted report or because I am a single parent. I wanted him to go to a local school and I liked the feel of the school

[Tortoiseturtle]

Because of living some way from work, I couldn't have managed if they had gone to the school local to where we lived. Also, if you rent you don't know for sure whether you will continue to live in the same area. So it made it easier to send them to the school closest to work. Also meant they could do activities in town after school. We had moved from a different part of the country. There was a space in my DC1's year, DC2 got a place at nursery nearby, so catchment area was not an issue. DC2 got into same school because of sibling priority - which I had checked when choosing the school for DC1. There are some issues with the school now, though, so will need to move DC2 to a far less convenient one, meaning more driving. Not happy. Still need to base it around work as DC1 is now in secondary near work. It all gets very complicated. I think the best solution if you can do it is live near where you work and send to local school.

[MeMyselfAnd1]

I think it has more to do with how much time to get to work after school drop off. And being on your own has something to do with it, as there is nobody at home you can share school drop offs & pick ups.

I have added 3 hrs to the commuting time each day in order to take DS to a school that was right for him, but I am very aware that I could do that because I was working part time.

Nowadays, when Ds and I keep a roof above our heads thanks to my full time job, I would always opt for the best school as long as I could manage to get to work in time. But if the school was rubbish, I would probably move, change jobs or do whatever to avoid sending him there, even if this complicated our lives even more.

[Diorella]

wow, a question that feels relevant to me right now. Yes, I did, there is a school 3 kilometres away that has a really good reputation and yet........... because I don't have a car, and would find bus fares every day a consideration, I chose the school that is five minutes walk away. Not that it's a bad school!. The results are actually so marginally poorer that it's not worth worrying about.
I also worried about my dc making friends ONE town away and my not being able to get her there and back due to having no car.

So, this is the first time really that my being single has factored in to such an important decision. But, I think it will be ok. Perfectly OK

[Meglet]

Being a working parent swung my decision more than being a LP.

I needed a school with after school care, one that was walking distance and had decent parking for the days I took the car.