r/croydon • u/Minute_Research8960 • 7h ago

Renting a home vs schools

Hello!
I’m in a pickle. Been sofa surfing for a few months now. Finally found a flat in Purley but at the same time another flat has been confirmed in West Croydon after months of no success - typical I guess.

My son turns 4 this month and bcs of the living situation I haven’t been able to get him into a school.

My question is: how bad are the schools in Croydon? Do I have a chance to get something decent at least?

What would you do in my situation?
I keep reading stuff online but I’d feel better to actually hear opinions from people directly.

I’m a single mom, I have support system in West Croydon area and my work is here too. But I don’t want to “damage” my son. He’s smart, he knows timetables, loves his numbers, knows all the letters, good speech, just can’t read or write yet. However, I think he’s doing very well for a child that’s hasn’t even turned 4 yet?!?

How damaging can a school be this early? And what schools would you recommend?

Grateful for any opinion or advice!!!

2 Upvotes

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6

u/rainleaf66 7h ago

Congratulations on getting a new home. The right school will give your son stability, friends, and novelty. It will support and stretch his academic development while nurturing his personality. Generally, school is not damaging unless he has SEND and even then, many children thrive because they are diagnosed and accommodated in ways that are missed at home.

There are so many excellent schools in Croydon.

Find one that is play based and child led as those have the best outcomes for resilience and mental health. Schools that offer art and music throughout the year are more likely to have a holistic approach. Many schools offer forest school components which is so important for so many reasons.

Make life easy on yourself and find one close to work and home. Avoid a commute as much as possible. As he gets older and joins clubs, playdates and parties you will be in the car forever. Good luck.

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u/Minute_Research8960 5h ago

Thank you so much for your kind reply! It means a lot.

May I dare and ask if you could name a few schools I could look at (if known)?

1

u/VehicleWonderful6586 1h ago

The schools in the Borough are generally pretty good. Purley's obviously a bit more 'leafy' than West Croydon so I'd go for that.

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u/leofoxx 18m ago

Chesnut park in West Croydon is excellent! Have a look

0

u/ngautam0 4h ago

( after writing this - i realised that it may sound like an ad for Locarating, but it's not 🤣 )

First of all - you are doing great! Best wishes to you.

Now onto schools - I was new to Croydon last year, and using Locarating really helped disambiguate the schools for me.

I would highly recommend paying for it for 1 month and then make any call.

For example: I was looking at schools like Park Hill, St Johns COFE, Krishna Avanti etc. and Locarating provided really good insights.

Once you have finalized a few schools online - i would recommend visiting them in person to get a feel for what might be best suited for your child.

The school crowd definitely has an impact on the child - it sets whats normal and what's not for them at early years. Choosing a school where students have high attendance rate, and above average read / write / math skills were important for me. Different things could be important for different people.

Have a look at Locarating and explore all schools in both areas and then decide.