To not be ok with choosing a school for dd sight unseen?

[newwnamme]

Dd 3 is due to start school sept 21. There are a few local possibilities. We know noone who attends any of them and have no knowledge beyond what's on their websites. I called today to ask what is happening with the admissions process this year. Apparently a decision has been made today that no visits will take place. Instead, a 'virtual tour' will be available on the school website.

Am I being unreasonable to think there is no way I would enrol my child in a school which I have never stepped foot inside, never met a member of the staff, had a chance to observe the atmosphere there or anything else? I do get that this is an unusual year. But that does nothing to make me feel better about what is on offer.

I am strongly considering homeschooling, at least as an interim measure. What would you do in this situation?

I used to work in a local shop and when my daughter was due to start school, l asked mums who came in the shop what they thought of their kid's school. It all corresponded with what was on local social media sites so although l see what you mean about it is not a reliable source, l would still bear in mind what people say on their. But for me, being in walking distance was a big factor - not just for my convenience but so she would have local friends etc.

Is this your first kid OP? I think you're putting a lot of weight on a 10 minute whip round the school. Ask to have a phone chat with the head and get a feel for him or her. They will be the tone setter of the school. Ask a few questions and see how you feel about the response. Look at the Ofsted carefully. Look at the SATS. How's the progress 8? What is the intake like? Is it all middle class well sorted kids and the progress 8 is flat or is it a deprived cohort with a flat progress 8. These things matter. What's on offer for sports, extra curriculars? What kind of behaviour system so they use and do you agree with it. You're disregarding the opinions of strangers but I wouldn't. It all helps to form a picture.

1. do the virtual tours 2) look at sats results and progress 3) look at maps to work out facilities eg playing fields/wooded areas etc 4) find out how big reception room is and is it free flow 5) is it 1/2/3 form entry and what do you prefer 6) percentage of free school meals/English as a second language etc 7) get a feel for how involved parents are/Pta - do they go in to read/book etc/help on school trips 8) find out about how much homework 9) this is the big one - go and observe the parents and kids in the morning and after school. That tells you a lot.

I asked why evening visits were not an option

Who would staff these evening visits? Our teachers are working solidly from 8.20 when first children arrive until 3.00 when the last ones leave. Including all breaks and lunch I order to preserve the bubbles. Many staff are then spending up to an hour cleaning their work spaces and equipment used by there bubble. There is no money to pay premises staff to open the school late either. PLUS there is the “rule of six” which we have been told does apply to visitors to the school.

Trust me, we would love to offer tours to advertise our school.

@EachPeachPearSums thank you for these suggestions. Where would I find information on the progress 8 (which I confess I have never heard of) and the intake?

@fishywaters
percentage of free school meals/English as a second language

Why is this important to know?

I agree it's not great..

we totally changed the order of our school preferences when we went around them.

However I'd highly recommend (if you can) you try to be outside schools you are considering at drop off/pick up on a dry day and just chat to a few parents... Especially those with one in juniors and another in reception/Yr 1....often very helpful

Progress 8 is secondary school data, so irrelevant to primary

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk

It's all in here.

It's not called progress 8 but there are still progress scores for reading, writing and math at primary.

Honestly, I didn't look around the school dd went to. My first choice was the nearest one (there are another 3 possibilities), because I wanted her to be able to walk to and from school herself eventually.

But then, coming from Scotland where you go to your catchment school unless you make a specific request and there happens to be space in the non-catchment school, the English system was odd to me.

When I first learned about the system in England, honestly I was a bit about it all, and all the chat at toddler / preschool about looking around and choosing your preferred school. And then other parents looked at me like I had 3 heads when I just said I just chose the nearest one, then 2nd closest and 3rd closest as choice 1,2&3.

@BuggerOffAndGoodDayToYou

I asked why evening visits were not an option

Who would staff these evening visits? Our teachers are working solidly from 8.20 when first children arrive until 3.00 when the last ones leave. Including all breaks and lunch I order to preserve the bubbles. Many staff are then spending up to an hour cleaning their work spaces and equipment used by there bubble. There is no money to pay premises staff to open the school late either. PLUS there is the “rule of six” which we have been told does apply to visitors to the school.

Trust me, we would love to offer tours to advertise our school.

I presume members of the school staff, in the same way as normal? I was told that does normally happen to allow for working parents but not this year.

Well I don’t not know what you can do really, maybe have a walk past at lunch times and see if the children look happy playing? Have a nosey at pick up and drop off times to see what’s happening? It’s not ideal I agree but I’m not sure what you can do that people haven’t already suggested.

We are in the same situation. I’m going off the virtual tours and what they look like / how they feel and ofsted reports.

We are lucky enough to have a neighbour who has started in the school closest to us this year and they seem to be likely it so far.

If you have a childminder can you ask their opinion? They will have seen lots of children and if they are happy / settled?

Can you ask a local Facebook group for feedback?

TBH, it's not really a choice but a preference. Your child will be offered a place at the first place they meet the entry criteria for.

Free school means- for some people this is important. A very middle class school will have a very low FSM rate. Some people avoid schools like that and want a school that reflects the community. Some schools have very high FSM eg some parts of London but as a result average funding per child can be significantly higher. EAL is another marker of diversity, for example my DC’s state primary is significant in EAL and low on FSM so lots of European and Asian middle class which suits me. Might not suit others. Just depends on what you want, some schools don’t have school uniform and call teachers by their first name, again a totally different feel.

My son is starting secondary school next September. It’s really stressing me out that we can’t view any schools. I desperately want to be able to get a feel for the school we choose, I want him to be able to get a feel too. Our local private school allowed us a viewing so we might end up going down that route as it’s the only school we’ve viewed.

I've done this, as had to move over the summer. I only saw the outside of the school. I knew no parents and there was no Ofsted report. Needs must. Looking round a school doesn't tell you everything. I wouldnn't home school, no. Just choose on the info you've got.

Phone the school and chat to the headteacher. They’ll be happy to help you and they are the ones who set the tone for the school. Our LA has banned visits and open days for parents but all the Headteachers would definitely be happy to chat.

I enrolled my DS into nursery sight unseen. I researched thoroughly, contacted parents via local Facebook groups, read Ofsted reports, walked around the nursery during opening hours to see what the area / parents were like, spoke to the manager and other key workers and asked them about various things I was interested in - then picked the nursery. Technically for schools this should be easier because they are usually more visible on social media.

Can you really see why school staff might not be comfortable escorting groups of parents around the school at the moment?

Go private, you'll be happier.

I've never been on a school tour in the evening. There would really be no point. You can see the facilities from photos. You can chat to the head teacher on the phone. You go to see the kids and teachers in action. If you weren't going to do this then you're no worse off really.

Looking round schools only tells you how good they are at doing tours tbh.

If you're feeling brave OP name change and post the schools in education and all of us who have played this game lots will have a look and give you opinions.

I am a headteacher of a primary school. I fully understand how difficult it must to make a decision on which school your child will go to without visiting. In normal times, I thoroughly enjoy showing off how wonderful my school is and I offer individual tours during school session times for every prospective parent. However, my main priority at the moment is keeping everyone in my school as safe as possible. My school is located in the north west of England and cases are high. Parents of children who are at the school are not allowed on site at the moment. I cannot justify the risk of letting prospective parents visit. I would be concerned about schools who were happy to arrange tours as they may not be putting the health and welfare of children and staff before the need to fill places.

We have prepared a 20 minute virtual tour video and it genuinely does reflect life at school. I am also offering telephone conversations and I am happy to talk to parents on multiple occasions. Given the very difficult circumstances which schools are currently in, it really is the very best that we can do.