We looked into it once when things weren’t going well for our daughter. But it was a case of not being able to change to an out of area school unless we moved house. It was really disappointing

would really depend on a number of circumstances – if it was ongoing issues you could inquire with other schools – but other schools may not accept out of area or be any better

I actually tried when my daughter hit secondary and the bullies started. I was told I wouldn’t have access government funding for her because I was choosing a school outside her zone. So it got too expensive for us :/

After what my child went through at his first prep school, if he didn’t seem comfortable… YES I would DEFINITELY change schools!! At my sons first school “he” was so problematic, wouldn’t listen and hid under his desk ect… and officially got suspended for a day… WELL, we relocated towns, and at his new school we have not had any major problems. Apparently he is hard to get to sit still and quiet every now and again, but he is no where near having outbursts ect… And I am quite sure his teacher was bullying him… I was so pissed off at myself…

Some good ideas here.

We looked into changing our daughters school. She was being bullied and was finding the work too easy. We soon found out it’s not easy to enrol your child in a school outside of your region. We nearly got it done, but were shot down at the final barrier

I sure did change schools, we even changed states.. The school morals and such didn’t change – it was no different than the previous school, so we started home education! The children are now thriving, learning and are extremely happy!

Sounds like you know what you need to do. Would love to hear what you did in the end

Sounds like the new school is a good idea. I hope it’s a great switch for your daughter and your son loves it too.

I just read your reply in the comments and I think it sounds like you are doing the right thing. What was happening doesn’t sound very good or like the best learning environment for a little Preppie. Hopefully she has a great start to hew new school this year

It sounds like you already know the answer to this question, perhaps you need to find another way to reassure yourself of the impending move. I suggest you use these school holidays to go along to another school and check it out. You can get a lot of vibes from the minute you walk into the school office, the way the staff answer your questions and their willingness to show you around. Go see more than one school of you like. Once you do this, you will know if it is right to move your child. Good luck, hope it all works well for you both, school should be a safe, happy and enjoyable place.

I would change schools if it were easy enough to do, especially if my child was in a situation I didn’t like such as being bullied or struggling with school in general. I would probably try and talk to my child’s teacher and principal first to see what options they might have to offer before making a decision though.

You are fortunate that you can change schools. In SA even in Primary School you are zoned to a school according to which area you live in. I know of one instance where they live one block too far from the school of their choice. In another case they were 3 streets outside of it but the most annoying part was they had to walk along a very busy road to catch a bus to another school a 10 minute trip. The child was too young to send alone. They had only just moved into the area a couple of days before the new school term so hadn’t formed a friendship with other Mums so she was worried that if for some reason she was unable to return to the school on time in the afternoon she knew nobody to assist her in case of an dire emergency.

Ask your child if she wants to change if she does she will br excited about a nrw school with better friends and nicer teachers.
What ever you decide please talk to her she may be young but she knows herself enough to give you her opinion.

It sounds as if she already wants to change aswell. Just remember changing schools can be very hard for kids they need you to talk to them about it they need to understand why.

She is only in prep, she is being sent to the reflection room (detention) for just being tired or had enough of doing the work they are doing etc, or getting overly excited etc. She went from being the teachers pet at her old school (we moved to different town) to hating school and telling her friends she is moving to different school. There are other kids in her class who spit at teachers and kids, and swear. My daughter wouldn’t do anything like that, but I haven’t heard of them going to reflection room. Also a friends child who goes to same school was being bullied, the same teacher pretty much said she was lying and then to keep her away from the bully the teacher made her sit with her at lunch and playtime instead of the bully. Since I posted this I have gotten new enrolment forms at another school that seems a lot better. She will be staying at this school as there is only 1 week left and starting at the new school next year for grade 1 along with her brother who will be in prep.

I would never continue to send my child to a school they weren’t happy at. Imagine spending a large part of your day being miserable and dreading going to school. How awful!

My child comes first. So yes, if I realized that the school she’s attending is not the right one for her, I’d surely change her. After having talked with the school though, to see if they can offer some solution. If they dismiss my worries, I just go away. If I see willingness in cooperate, that is different of course.

I Would look in to it and talk to the staff and ask questions 1st
Also let the child learn that life is not easy sometimes it is hard.
As I went to 14 different primary schools and hated the fact each school different rules to learn and I couldn’t make friends as didn’t want to in the end due to moving around so much and learnt the hard way didn’t matter what I said or did as I knew I wouldn’t be there for long.
I have told my children that they have to learn to follow rules and get along with every one

I would go to the school first and try to work out what is happening and why he doesn’t like the discipline is it because its working? discipline is not meant to be nice its meant to teach them a lesson, but on the other hand if the lesson they are teaching is that they are nasty control freaks and there are plenty of teachers who are, something needs to be done. Is it just your sons own teacher that he is having trouble with or is he getting into trouble then being passed to another room or office or the principal and feels unfairly treated in all those situations? My daughter never had trouble at school she was top of her class she was happy she loved getting up in the morning, then she got to grade 2 and started to struggle she had been kept in at lunch time and then refused her asthma medication at one stage (which i promptly sorted!) and began to hate school and trying to take days off having fights with her friend and finding the work hard and so on. I spoke to the school a couple of times twice to her teacher and twice to the vice principal each incident was mildly addressed but she was still not happy, i began to worry. Then she went into grade 3, and oh my goodness the difference was incredible within 2 weeks she was learning again and wanting to go and making new friends. It had all boiled down to having a teacher who had been teaching for a few years too long and lost the passion for educating young minds, and the fact that she just didn’t like my daughter. I really hope something is sorted out for your son, it breaks our hearts as parents seeing our child suffering.

I’d approach the school first and voice my concerns to the principal and would make my final decision based on that meeting. If he/she isn’t willing to listen or offer constructive advice then nothing will change. It’s also good to get the schools version of events as sometimes our children can exaggerate about the issues they are facing – not saying that’s the case here but sometimes it happens. Good luck whatever you decide – choosing the right school is so important to keeping our children engaged in learning, it’s a tricky one as you know!