How do you find a school with good pastoral care?

[Indecisivelurcher]

Just that really, other than word of mouth is there any way to find out which schools have better pastoral care? Grades and Ofsted is easy to find, but how happy the kids are isn't!

Parents evenings, find the school where ALL the teachers are happy to speak to you and seem nice. Don't pick the one where the teachers are more bothered about talking to each other. Watch the headmasters speech and pick the one that doesn't have his head up his own arse. Speak to the Senco too. Pick one that isn't run by an academy chain if at all possible too. That's how I found my son's high school, it's lovely. It's not always the school with the highest Offstead rating that you want.

I'm not at the stage to visit schools yet, but am at the stage of thinking crap do I need to move house to avoid the local comp unfortunately ...

I was just wondering if there were any indicators I could look up.

Have a look at the school website - what news is on there? Is it all about the academics or is it about care and fun and learning outside the classroom? Most schools put their newsletters to parents online - have a read. Do they celebrate achievements big and small? Do that include info on mental health / support services / how to contact school easily? This will tell you much more about the heart of a school than ofsted reports and league tables!

The only reliable way is word of mouth. If you're looking out of your area, can you try Next Door?

Teachers who look you in the eye, and happy looking children, are also good indicators. You'd be surprised how many teachers can't make eye contact. And by how different the children seem in different schools. Looking round in person makes all the difference.