If you have children and are making school choices for siblings, you may be thinking about whether they attend the same school or not, or if different schooling options are a better choice for each of them. This collaborative post talks about school choices, we hope it is helpful.
You might think that sending your children to the same school is what everyone does and is the simplest and easiest way to get your children through school.
The choice of school might be driven by a number of factors. For example, you might send your children to somewhere like Rossall School due to the ability to board your children there, giving you more flexibility for returning to work. Or you might simply opt to send your children to the nearest local school.
The choice people make usually involves several stages. Researching a school, finding one that they like, their child enjoys, and they have a relationship with. Then any siblings the oldest child has can go to the same school. In fact, having a child already at a school tends to make admissions easier and also helps with keeping everyone in the same place and in a familiar setting.
This works for a lot of people, but, there are situations that might call for you to send your children to different schools.
Different educational needs
You might have a child with a disability, or special educational needs that require additional help and care throughout the day. Most main stream schools are set up to provide an education while still meeting these needs and helping your child’s development.
However, in some cases it might be worth looking for a school which specialises in helping pupils who might need additional help and support as well as being able to work a curriculum around the need for potential medical treatments or appointments.
Choosing to send your child to a more specialised school can ensure that they get more of the care and support they need at school and they are under the supervision of people with expertise and experience in working with children that require additional help.
Gender
Your oldest child might be a boy, and he might attend an all-boys school. Having a little girl means based purely on biology you’d need to find somewhere else for them to go to school.
This means returning to the research and investigation that you will have done when you first chose a school. However, the benefit here is you can look at schools that are better suited to your child’s individual needs and the impression they have of each school based on open days and meeting with teachers.
You might have to attempt to juggle two different school schedules, such as differences in start and finish times, different holidays, inset days and after school activities. However, schools sometimes provide options such as breakfast and after school clubs that can be a massive help with managing a school run that covers several stops.
Nurture a specific talent
You might have a child who has the aspiration to be a star or stage and screen. Sometimes a regular school might not be the best place to help nurture this talent. The alternative is to look for a specialised stage school which can help not only provide your child with an education but also give them a better starting point to take advantage of a specific talent.
This might involve an audition process or an entrance exam but passing this can help give your child a head start on developing a skillset they otherwise might have struggled to do.
Keep in mind that skills that have a specialised skill set such as a stage school might have additional fees that need to be paid. So, there might be a cost consideration to keep in mind.
There’s many reasons why you might decide to send your children to different skills, some are a matter of choice and some might be born from necessity.
Whatever the reason it is important that you take the time to properly research and consider your options so that you find the best possible place for your child to grow, learn and develop. Making school choices for siblings can seem challenging but as long as each child is thriving in school, you are doing what is best for them.
