christmasoompa

None I've ever lived in, perhaps in the darkest depths of the country though.

In all the villages we've lived in we've been made to feel incredibly welcome. When we moved here we had people turning up with cakes/casseroles etc, and were welcomed in to the community. I'm going away soon for a weekend with 10 of the other women in the village, that's how good friends they've become after a couple of years.

Bud the Wiser

Yep. Find the nursery, school first, and not just the primary/junior school, check out secondary schools. Rent within those catchment areas and try and get a well rounded feel for the place, before starting to commit to the area.
Neighbours can be hit or miss.

Sally Redux

Let's hope they would be welcomed. Zhaosfamily did specifically ask about attitudes to immigrants, and I know some people in these kinds of areas can have prejudiced views. Has to be said.

zhaosfamily

As long as the number of nightclubs are not that many compared with Brighton, we are fine with it.

zhaosfamily

Thanks, christmasoompa.

Do you have somewhere (village) to recommend?

Cheers

zhaosfamily

In this case, is it a better idea to stay in city and get used to the local culture and how to get along with local people before moving further to a village?

zhaosfamily

Thanks a lot NiHao. It's good to have some big picture of an area for both renting and nursery.

zhaosfamily

I checked the rating for both Eastbourne and Plymouth and found the reports are not that updated comparing with Ofsted report.

It would be great if they results can be updated according to the report.

zhaosfamily

It's great to have this kind of lovely people / neighbours.

I am looking forward to the life in village now.

NiHao

I know the ofsted reports can't give a complete picture but they are a good starting point. When I have been reading ofsted reports I have taken into account the date they were written (some are several years old) and I have also looked at the school's own websites to get a better feel for the school, downloading their newsletters, seeing what clubs they offer, are they a forest school, etc. Once we get further down the line I would call the school direct for more info and of course visit prior to enrolling.

I am very interested to hear about your experience of your children's school being completely wrong. In what way is the info wrong? Is the school better or worse than its ofsted rating? How recent is your schools ofsted report? Is it wrong because it is out of date? Do they have a website and if so do you feel it gives a better glimpse of what the school is like?

Of course a school can be a very good school but, for various reasons, not score so highly on the key stages which might give it an ofsted rating that doesn't really reflect its strengths. Equally a change of staff etc. can mean that a previously successful school can go downhill rapidly.

As someone with young children the quality of education is probably my highest priority so its really helpful to hear from others with children already in UK schools or who are looking at making the move. Thanks for any info/experience/perspective you can share

Pistolpete2

Thank you for posting the schools rating link NiHao. I've been using it to great effect in the last couple of days.

I did note that if a school has a significant weakness, Ofsted will have it down for a further inspection in some fashion, in the fairly near future. However, if things are consistently going just fine, it can be some time before a detailed inspection is carried out again - possibly four years, and this can be a bit frustrating if one wants something current or something as the course programme has evolved/enlarged since the last inspection.

Also, I was looking at a college that required improvement - 3. However, upon further inspection (by me), the specific course that I required was rated Outstanding in its entirety. Fortunately I was not completely put-off and bothered to dig deeper.

Sally Redux

It might be good to do that and get a feel for the areas. For example, Alfriston is a beautiful village but has a reputation for being snobby.

zhaosfamily

Dear NiHao,

Do you have heard of these two nurseries or have friends who send their kids to these nurseries? I only found two outstanding nurseries in Eastbourne area.

Pooh's is quite centrally located while Bluebell Hill is a little bit further.

http://www.poohsnurseryschool.co.uk/index.php

http://www.bluebellnurseries.co.uk/c...ery-eastbourne

I did a search on right move.co.uk but there is no house / apartment available to rent around Bluebell Hill Nursery.

Not sure whether I have to live in that area or I can live in Eastbourne city central and send my daughter to Bluebell Hill Nursery?

There's a lot of things I need to learn regarding how to select a good nursery and nearby apartment / house.

Thank you again for your kind sharing.

zhaosfamily

It's great that you found the right college with the outstanding course! Congratulations!