School is vital for children. It provides them with a basic foundation of education to do everything or anything they want to do later in life. Aside from the essential knowledge about key subjects, schools develop skills that the child will be unable to live without after their education. However, if your child is not entirely comfortable at their school or they aren’t experiencing the best possible education they could be, transferring schools is a solution.
Transferring schools can massively benefit your child, either through their academic or social life. Most of the time, if your child wishes to change schools it is quite likely that this is the best option. However, there may also be circumstances where your child is not willing to switch schools, but it is the best course to take for their future.
As the parent, there are many reasons and conditions to consider while you make or finalise this decision and find your child a school that fixes the problem as well as allows them to feel less stressed, happier, and more comfortable. Please read on to find out more.
1. Your child’s mental health
The mental health of your child may be suffering at their current school and this will have a large impact on their academic life. They may begin to concentrate less or be less motivated to attend school every day. This will lead to them not receiving the education they require for later life. Not only will poor mental health affect their education, but it will also affect your child outside of academics.
Ensuring your child’s mental health remains healthy is incredibly important and if transferring schools is the way to do this, then that is what must happen. They may become less happy due to academic or social stress or anxiety and this may lead to more serious illnesses such as depression. There are several things at school that could be the cause of the negative impact on your child’s mental health.
2. Too much stress due to internal tests and exams
In order to ensure their students are keeping up with and remembering what is taught, schools commonly use internal topic tests and end of year exams. These are not highly important when considering the child’s entire school career, but they can often cause a high amount of stress in pupils as well as parents.
If these tests are not very beneficial to your child, or if they are of an unreasonable level of difficulty and or quantity. Then this is likely a reason to consider transferring the school of your child as the immense level of stress is unhealthy and may actually result in worse grades in final national exams.
3. Difficult mobility between school and your home
Many families are not able to pick up and drop their kids off at school in a car or even accompany them on public transport or walking due to the occupation of the parents.
If the mobility and transport required to get to school are not easy and there is a closer school available, then this is a viable reason to transfer schools of your child. If the journey is too long, this may tire out the child meaning they have less energy to concentrate in class and learn.
The long and difficult journey will also cut into their homework and free time, meaning the child loses motivation for school and doesn’t necessarily understand what they are taught. It may also discourage them from going to school on a daily basis as they will have to wake up earlier and make the long journey.
4. The job of the parent(s)
Many children transfer school due to the change in jobs or the type of jobs their parents may have. For example, the child of a Diplomat or multi-national executives would likely have to change school around every two years. This may result in a more difficult and unstable school career for the child however it is necessary due to them having to move with the parent.
A potential alternative solution, other than transferring schools, is a boarding school; if this is something that both parent and child are comfortable with.
5. Unsuitable methods of teaching that are not specific to your child
Different schools usually have slightly different teaching methods each with their own advantages and disadvantages and these do not necessarily work for every single pupil at that school. For example, one school may carry out more field trips than another school to allow their students to gain more practical experience and knowledge.
On the contrary, a different school may have a comparatively larger number of internal tests to adapt students to exam conditions and allow them to practise these as well as creating frequent revision cycles which helps the students embed content into their memory.
It is important to find a school whose teaching methods are specialised to your child’s learning methods. If this is not the case at your child’s current school, then transferring school to one better suited to your child’s learning is likely an appropriate solution.
6. Not enough choice is offered through subject options
It is important that your child is able to fully explore the fields in which they are interested. This will allow their knowledge to develop and their curiosity to grow. However, they will not be able to pursue their passions and learn about what they enjoy when the school restricts this growth by not offering enough subjects for the child.
In order to allow your child to have more choice and therefore have access to a wider field of careers in the future, you may transfer their schools from one with scarce subject options to one with many available subjects that your child is interested in.
7. There are not many extra-curricular activities available
It is important for the child to be able to explore all of their possible interests for their future, whether it be in choice of subjects or what activities and clubs they do after or before school. Some of these may include sports such as cricket and swimming or more creative clubs such as crafts or music composing.
Perhaps your child is especially talented and passionate about a particular hobby. If the school has a very limited and scarce amount of these activities available then, as the parent, you may consider transferring them to a different school.
8. The school day is too long or too short
Children need enough free time outside of school in order to pursue out-of-school interests, have a social life, and also to relax and get away from the constant stress and heavy workload that comes with going to school.
If the amount of time which they spend at their school is incredibly high then they will not be able to have adequate time to relax and this will begin to affect their concentration and motivation in class.
However, if their school day is too short, it does not provide an adequate amount of time for them to learn the required courses and content that they must know for national exams and future careers.
9. Your child is uncomfortable due to social circumstances (bullies or unkind friends)
It is important that your child feels comfortable at the location of their highly essential education in order to get the most out of a school day as possible. However, if there is a high amount of inhospitality at the school due to bullies or social exclusion, or any other negative socialising related circumstance, then the child will not be able to concentrate during class and will have poor mental health.
They may also be scared to show up to school and this low attendance will have severe impacts upon their education and may even lead to them not being able to pass the grade.
10. The teachers at the school are unkind or not suitable for your child
The teachers and management of the school are a key part of what makes up the school, equal to the pupils that go there, and arguably more important than the campus and property of the school. When these teachers are not doing absolutely everything, they can to ensure your child gains everything possible from their 12 vital school years, and are uncooperative in improving, then it is time to consider transferring school.
11. The school rules are too restrictive
Rules are present in every single school in order to maintain order and allow all pupils to gain the most out of their education. However, when these rules begin to take away the child’s freedom rather than provide a healthy learning environment, it is time to consider transferring your child to a different school.
Many schools have the key vital rules such as no phones during class or respecting the property, teachers, and other pupils. These are important in creating an educational and encouraging atmosphere at the school.
However, sometimes schools go too far and introduce rules that are far more restrictive and are debatably unnecessary such as preventing a child from using the bathroom or dying their hair. These types of rules may be a reason to transfer your child to a different school as these types of rules can affect their mental health and motivation to attend and learn at school.
12. The school fee is too expensive
Most schools in the UK are free however some parents do choose to send their children to independent private schools and this means that the fee of the school plays a huge part in whether and which private school the child goes to.
As the parent, if you begin facing financial trouble due to an unaffordable termly fee and the school does not provide financial aid such as bursaries then you may have to transfer the child to a less expensive or a free state school despite them being comfortable.
13. Your child is moving between keys stages
It is common for all children at the age of 12/13 to transfer to a different school. This is because they are moving from their primary or preparatory stage of learning into their secondary or higher stage of learning.
The high school which they transfer to is usually decided by the catchment of where they live. However, some choose to attend other schools for reasons such as that is the high school that is most correlative to their primary school or they move into a private independent school.
Some children also transfer schools around the age of 16/17 because they choose to attend sixth form colleges rather than continue at their current high school.
14. The school is unwilling to adapt to your child’s needs
For many of the reasons that have been or will be mentioned, rather than transferring schools, a different solution could be found by communicating with the school to arrange conditions that solve the reason.
However, the school may be unwilling to make changes, and this may be likely, depending upon the magnitude of the changes that need to be made to allow your child to feel comfortable. Schools will often be willing to help improve the mental health of your child but if there is really not much they are able to do then transferring schools is the only other option.
15. The child is unwilling to adapt to the School
Similar to the reason above, the child may not be willing to discuss and find a solution to their problems, either academic or social related, by communicating and arranging with the school and so this would mean there are very few options other than transferring schools.
You should never force your child to entirely change themselves in order to adapt to the school which they go to. If they are suffering from academic or social stress then an effective long term solution should be found rather than telling the child to ‘deal with it’ or ‘ignore it’ because this will have huge impacts on their mental health and what they actually learn at school.
16. There is too much or too little homework set
Teachers set homework in order for children to comprehend and use the content taught in class in order for them to gain a deeper understanding and to remember it better. However different schools allow teachers to set varying amounts of homework.
The amount which works best for your child is generally not too little, which would cause them to not gain a deeper and more sure understanding of the topic if it isn’t taught well in class. However, the average amount of homework for your child should also not be too high because this would cause stress and a lack of motivation. This will badly affect their mental health and perhaps cause them to start intensely avoiding that particular subject or even the concept of homework in general.
17. Inadequate facilities
It is important that the environment in which your child goes to learn every day for 6 to 7 hours is fully equipped for their education. If the school which your child goes to does not provide the appropriate facilities for their learning, then this is may be a reason to transfer schools.
For example, if your child is greatly interested in football or basketball but the school fails to provide usable courts and fields then your child cannot develop this interest. Similarly, if your child wishes to study or read during school time and the school doesn’t provide a quiet place for them to concentrate such as a library then they will be unable to do so.
Bathrooms, toilets, canteens and water fountains are also included within these highly essential facilities. It is more important that your child has everything they require for basic survival at their place of learning, as well as the less obvious facilities for their learning.
Your child may also require special assistance during the school day. This may be due to a physical disability such as moving in a wheelchair or due to a learning disability that may prevent them from learning and understanding new skills easily and coping independently.
The correct facilities should be made available at the school, at a high quality, such as ramps and lifts or providing teaching assistants and flexible learning times.
18. The school is discriminative
The school which your child goes to is likely to have a Non-Discrimination policy, but most schools are not quite as good as they should be at following this policy. Even casual micro-aggressions let alone visible discrimination can gravely affect your child’s mental health and motivation to learn and this should not be tolerated at any school.
If the school which your child goes to has any form of discrimination and is not going to great lengths to eradicate it, then transferring your child to a different school is something that should definitely be considered.
19. Unsanitary campus
The environment in which students learn must be ideal for their concentration and learning however, with an unsanitary campus they may be unable to concentrate on their learning.
It may be due to facilities that are not meeting the level of cleanliness they are required to be for the whole school to use it healthily and safely, such as badly functioning toilets. This may also affect the food which they consume at the school. The low level of sanitation may affect the physical health of your child as they are exposed to more bacteria as well as affecting the mental health of your child.
An unsanitary campus creates distraction in the children around as they are not in an environment optimised for their concentration. It will also allow learning to be more interactive and productive as the teacher can make use of more resources, such as classroom space or outdoor areas.
Find out more at this study showing how cleanliness affects learning
20. Area surrounding the school
The environment in which the school is located may also be a viable reason to transfer your child to a different school if it is an inappropriate community for young and vulnerable children. This may be due to the level of safety in the area or the level of illegal substance dealing. It is important that your children learn in a healthy and safe environment, even when travelling to and back home from school.
The level of safety in the area may also begin to affect the internal campus of the school as it may cause social pressure and children to become more scared, affecting their mental health and motivation to learn.
21-23. Smaller reasons that may contribute to the decision to transfer schools
Most of the reasons discussed above would be considered as fairly big reasons to transfer your child to another school, but there could also be some smaller issues that could warrant a change.
Unhealthy food options
Children require a healthy diet as a source of energy in order to learn and concentrate at school. However, if this is not available at the school which they go to, this will negatively affect their education through energy levels.
Unpleasant or lack of uniform
It is important that pupils feel comfortable and happy when learning and it is not likely that this is the case when they are in clothes that they find unappealing or uncomfortable.
Familiarity with the teacher, as the parent
Being more comfortable speaking to a teacher due to knowing them previously or meeting them at several parent-teacher meetings will mean that you as the parent are more informed about what is going on at your child schools and also allow you to more efficiently discuss solutions to any issues your child may have at school.
I want to transfer from my school to another
I am transferring my children to a different primary school, this has helped and cleared a lot of doubt in my head. My children are are in year 1 and 4. It’s been the hardest decision in my life. But the current school the area it is in is chavvy and it’s ofsted report is requires improvement, yea it’s been a while since it hasn’t been done but regardless Ive made the decision to leave. The school don’t even provide homework, I spoke to the hpark edges her and she sped they don’t believe on sending homework home with th… Read more »
*I spoke to the headteacher and she said they dont believe in sending homework, as parents are not trained teachers. Which is totally rubbish. I mean what school doesn’t send homework away.
huh how are you complaining about no home work
how do people transfer high schools
I am struggling in school because of my mental health but i have just joined the big school and my mum says the only option is to leave or adapt to the school. What do i do?
leaving is the best option