I have no doubt this post might (will) piss some people off-and already my use of language may lead to a few people not being endeared to me and the points I am trying to make. If that word annoyed you, probably best to tune out now-I am not going to get better with time. (I’m in my 40s and if I haven’t sorted my language out by now then we can presume I am a lost cause).

Disclaimer: choosing a school is a ballache, and most of us are trying to do the best we can for our kids-sometimes our needs mean we need to choose a specific school that best meets those needs. This letter is not aimed at you. For those that have already chosen their school, equally not aimed at you. I genuinely hope your kids, and you, have the best experience and feel settled and thrive.

This letter may also sound self-righteous, that I find, goes with the territory of having strong opinions. I am not here to change peoples minds-because I have found the internet and this medium has little to no success in that endeavour. What I am hoping to achieve is to get those who are looking at schooling for their child for next year to give their local school a consideration.

I live in a lovely area of Bristol, where more often I am meeting parents who live locally who have not even considered our local school for their kids and frankly I find that a bit upsetting. Most obviously because we send our kids there so when you meet a (no doubt well meaning-because who isn’t) parent who tells me that they didn’t even look at our school-well it comes across as a bit, well frankly rude! There are of course lots of people who looked at their local school (including ours) and felt it wasn’t right for them, and its a free world and I will just have to deal with it 😉

This isn’t just an issue in our local area-this is a problem all over. We live in a city and one of the benefits of the city is choice. I guess the logical conclusion would be -choose the best one.

But what makes a school the best one? Is it their academic achievements? Their robust SEND and pastoral policies? You like the Head teacher? You have friends there? They have great after school/sports/extra curricular provision?

These are legitimate points, and one I am sure every parent weighs up. These are things we thought about.

Then there are other thoughts-that some people say aloud and some don’t? What kind of families go there? What is the free school meal numbers indicating the socio-economic status of the children that attend? Will my children meet the right kind of kids? Will I like the other parents?

This is where it gets a bit murky. The truth is for the last two, the answers are very subjective and my experience is there are idiots and decent people in every corner of society. As our local school has a fairly high Free school meals numbers and a large number of children from a range of backgrounds I can talk about the benefits of that, and there are many. My children have friends from different backgrounds, religions and cultures and that seems to only bring a richness to our lives. My husband raved about the Sudanese waffles and coffee…and he isn’t enthusiastic about many things.

The school my children attend, and whatever the local school is to you, will not be perfect. There will be some outstanding members of staff and some who are less great and you will question why it is they work in a school. There will be parents that make you want to run for the hills screaming and some you will share a knowing look that saves your sanity when you least expect it. The communication will be not there at times and others you will feel its a full time job responding to all the correspondence! There will definitely be whatsapp groups that need to be muted at times. Even if your local school is a bit rough around the edges this will be true for them too. It is not a world to be feared or overlooked but rather invested in and celebrated.

My children are completely unaware of this situation, whether our neighbours and friends choose the school doesn’t affect their experience. They are having a good time regardless, its just sad to hear when it is not even considered. I realise I sound a bit of a knob, but do you know what for some things I am willing to, mainly for Dolly Parton, 90s teen TV or any childhood memrobilia. I am proud that my children attend our local school, not because its better than all the others but just because its good and why wouldn’t you want to share that. I imagine that parents in schools all over the country would say the same thing, well actually I imagine that mainly parents would moan because that seems to be a national skill we have.

The biggest problem and the biggest asset for any school is the parents-we get to shape it. We get to help our children navigate conflict, learn from challenges, shape their experience of school. Ultimately we are still the biggest influence in their lives (And that is another blog post)

If you are at your local school and are moaning that it is crap (aren’t we all at some point) then be the change you want to see. Lots of jobs give time off for volunteering…

In summary, if you are looking at a school for your child, please give your local school a thought…it might just be the right place for you.

Oh my life am I sounding like Kev from Motherland…I am so disappointed obviously I want to be Liz…she is the best…I think I might be raising a Liz, so there is that at least.