New School, New Start

The girls start at their new school tomorrow. It's going to be quite a disruption since it's mid year and Shannon only has another 18 months before she was due to move to secondary school anyway. It's not so bad for Erin since she only joined the junior school in September just gone. But either way, it was a necessary action.

The head of the school they've been at is - I'm pretty sure - insane! She puts everything ahead of the children, she speaks to them like they're dirt and I've heard many a story from people about how she'll reduce the children (not just mine) to tears on a regular basis. She's told parents that what happens at school with their children is none of their business and sees absolutely no problem with sending a 7 and 9 year old on a two mile walk along a busy main road without any adult supervision, just so they get to school on time. When we had really bad snow, hers was the only school that didn't close and she was very aggressive toward parents who called to say they were not sending their children in to school in such adverse conditions.

My 9 year old has always been very academic, bringing work home and going above and beyond what has been asked for with her homework, but over the last year I've watched as her interest has waned and she's grown more and more unhappy. My 7 (now 8) year old insists that her teacher singled her out and always put the blame - regardless of what it was for - on her, whether she did it or not, usually using the phrase "I know who I'm going to believe and it's not Erin."

So a week ago I put in an in-year application for them to change schools and where it asked if I wanted to give a reason for it, I pulled no punches. Amazingly we'd had a reply by Thursday just gone, offering the girls a place in the school I'd requested and we went to visit it Friday afternoon - meeting the head, the teachers and having a look around the school.

Even in that small visit, there was a distinct difference in the atmosphere. The head reminds me of the woman in charge of the primary school my other kids go to and (given the chance) Erin and Shannon would go back to if it was possible. Their ethos appears to be the children's welfare and education comes before everything else and with it being a small school, they can give the children more attention and learn to understand their needs better.

The girls start tomorrow, I've got to go in with them and I know Erin is very nervous (which is crazy because she's so self-confident). Shannon just seems really excited (and that's odd as well because she's the introverted one). But I think they both see this as an opportunity to start again and be somewhere happier.

Fingers crossed. I'll fill you all in on their first impressions after school tomorrow!

Kids had a great first day. Come home full of smiles. Shannon is busy researching the 7 wonders of the world, her interest in school work seems to have reappeared again!

Apparently she sent a newsletter home today with a paragraph about rumours being spread via facebook and how it's being investigated by the relevant authority. I do hope she's talking about me, I would welcome a visit from the education authority!

They're loving it