Viewing a school tonight

Check out the pastoral care, ask both staff and kids in detail. If your child is happy, the rest falls into place much easier.

Look at the students and teachers- do they seem happy and enthusiastic? Watch how they interact with one another, are the students polite, the teachers encouraging? I was once shown around a school by a prefect who had some interesting things to say about her teachers and was quite rude when speaking with them - it made me think twice. If this girl was a prefect, supposedly ambassador for the school and she behaved like this what would the rest of the kids be like.
Ask about what subjects are set and how and when the sets are determined? Some use Sats/ Cats? Is there potential to move between sets mid year?
Language options - how many do they offer in Y7?
Sports and extra curricular clubs?

If you can also visit during the school day this offers a more realistic view of the school.

Look how the teachers interact with your DC. I remember one English teacher approaching DD to ask about what she liked to write and they ended up doing a writing exercise together.

At DC's school they ask for volunteers DS goes because they get free food. I think the number of volunteers they get coupled with the fact the open day is on a Saturday says something!

Dd's school has a regulation skirt, but it's not specific to the school, just a mass produced plain one from a uniform brand, so it's reasonably priced. I prefer it as they don't have to worry about what's the latest fashion which people might not be able to afford and also uniform shop skirts tend to have a bigger choice of lengths and waist sizes than high street ones usually do so you can get a better fit. Plus i think it wears well and looks smarter.

The hardest thing to find out about (and one of the most important) is what the general behaviour of the kids is like, especially if you're viewing the school at an open evening rather than having a tour on a normal school day. No Head or teacher will ever admit that behaviour is bad. They will tell you about their sanctions policy and how rigorously it is followed, but what they won't tell you is whether it actually works. . A student tour guide probably wouldn't tell you either, because a) they'll have been hand-picked for the job and b) they are used to the level of behaviour and accept it as normal.

I did my teaching practice at a school in London. We student teachers had a lovely introductory talk from the Head in his swanky office. He told us wonderful things about the school and its lofty aims and policies. We were impressed - the school sounded amazing! It wasn't though- it was an absolute hell-hole.

Hope your schools are lovely though, OP!

ask

• how many get to do triple science vs double science and how is this decided
• do they offer IT/computer science? Is this for those not doing triple science?
• how many teams are there for whichever sport you're interested in. ask about inter-house competitions
• do they have an orchestra, school play etc. how often? how many involved?
• do they do DFE? can all who want to do it get a chance or if not how are they chosen?
• what % stay on for sixth form?

listen out for

• HT talking only about averages, x% get 5 GCSE passes. Listen out for more detail, eg high performers, A*-B grades etc
• too much talk from the HT about just one or two star pupils who probably are where they are with no input from the school (eg in music, drama, maths olympiad etc..)

a good qu for a pupil

• what schools do your friends go to and how does this compare?
• what is good?
• what would you change if you had a chance?

I think i checked whether they offered triple science and further maths as I'd seen it mentioned on here.

What's the uniform amendment that you don't like? I think I've seen you post about schools that make kids wear a blazer in 30 degree heat so you could ask about that. (All the schools where i live have a blazer but none make kids wear it when it's too hot as far as i know.)

For us, the confidence of the kids showing us round told us everything we needed to know.

In the larger more 'standard' comp, the kids selected were obviously the well behaved ones, but that meant they were also quite timid and hard to pull information out of.
The smaller school which thankfully my DD got into, the kids were all confident, spoke highly of the school, the laid back environment and the strong structured learning approach won the day!

The unhappy student would not have volunteered for an evening open in the first place. They just won't be there. So no spotting possible I'm afraid! Also if it is a night event, some parents would not be able to get their children there and other students may need to do homework! Just speak to who is there and look for enthusiasm and and easy rapport between teachers and students. In a busy evening you cannot forensically look at everything.

Ask about extra curricular things. Whether they play matches against other schools.

Look at displays if they have them, is it all brilliant set 1 work or are other pupils work displayed too.

HT speeches can be interesting for what they don't say. The other secondary in our town was very quiet on mentions of supporting children who struggle...

Ask pupils about how strict the school is on uniform and how much homework they really get. Also ask them about behaviour, and who they would turn to if they had a problem.

Ask the Head about bullying. If they say there isn't any, they are lying, and might well be lying about other things.

If you're shown round by a pupil, ask what their favourite and least favourite thing about the school is. Ask them if they had a little brother or sister would that line them to come to the school.

I agree with you about the Head's talk wine

Watch and see how the staff interact with the kids and how the children respond.
If staff know names, and eg whether child has been unwell, done well in a competition etc it shows that they have an interest in the children. If the children are happy chatting to the teachers it shows that they are liked and respected.

Definitely talk to the children - they are very honest!!

Instinct is key in my experience. If your gut says no, then listen to it.

If they are happy to let students show you round and talk to you, that speaks volumes.

If the staff proactively approach you for a chat and seem enthusiastic, it’s a good sign. I’ve been to open evenings where they’ve been stood around looking fed up and not approachable - could be a sign of low staff morale.

Having amazing cooking to taste and whizz-pop-bang in the science lab does not necessarily equal a great school. See if the students doing the practical demos are actually engaging.

Agree that the head’s talk is not the be-all and end-all. I once went to one where the head had a stammer and was therefore nervous, but it didn’t mean he or the school was bad. Conversely, a “slick” talker doesn’t mean it’s all fabulous.

Try to look for what they’re not overtly showing you!