quick! looking round a school soon, what should i look out for or ask? what is good about your school?

[gigglinggoblin]

rang them 10 mins ago to see if i could look round sometime this week and they said come after 3 so i have no time to prepare

am thinking of switching schools as ds1 has behaviour problems (prob aspergers) which current school are failing to manage. they are in yr 1 & 2 atm

what is good about your school? what should i look out for? i thought i was good at this stuff but thought the school they are at now was good when i looked around so obviously didnt ask right questions

pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease :)

How do they try to bring out the strengths of each child both within the curriculum and through after school activities. Do they have any reward system for progress and effort as well as achievement. What learning suport can they offer, specialist staffing and facilities ... are the loos clean and is the atmosphere friendly and lively.

oooh, that sounds great liz, they will think i know what i am talking about

thank you. any more? am writing this down :)

The fundamental question for me is whether the head is a capable manager. If they are, then they will recruit good staff who work well, both individually and as a team, and are happy. You can ask staff how long they've been there, if they plan to stay, and what's the best thing about working there.

WEll, the most important thing is to ask how they approach behaviour problems that may be AS. What back-up do they have, do thay have teaching assistants or staff dedicated to children who need one-to-one attention, how does the SENCO work with children and parents....in fact, I would ask to meet the SENCO if you think that an AS dx is likely, and ask how they would work with you and ds.

Look at the art work on the walls. How much of it is there and of what standard.

Why the art work?

My DS1 is under assessment (poss / prob AS). He's currently preschool, and I asked his EP what I should be looking for in choosing a primary school for him. she said:
"small school"
then she said some vague stuff about mixed age classes - can be benefit, but may not,
then she said "small school".

Then some stuff about structure and order in the school day,
then she said "small school".

I got the message - we are looking at small schools. Clearly, this depends on whether you have small schools in the area.

She said to ask to speak with the SENCO when you visit the school, and talk to them.

You are loking for your child to be on action / action +, with an appropriate IEP which is actually implemented. All schools will have regular contact with advisory teachers and the EP.

thanks everyone, i am now back so missed half of these, but will be going in for a chat with the head without the kids and will bring up the ones i missed then.

it is a small school sc, thats what drew me to it really and the classes are mixed so he will be with the year above which i think will suit him really well.

oddly the senco wasnt mentioned, not sure why - i def need to ask about that next time! she did explian about a nurture group they are setting up and their sn policies which sound loads better than where they are atm. the head also knew what AS was which was an improvement on current school!

thank you :)

If you have to ask sandyballs ...

In a small school the head is often (not always) also the SENCO. Maybe why she didn't mention them (because it is her). Accoridng to a good friend who is an experienced primary head: The SENCO's main role is to ensure that stuff is done and forms filled - it is the class teacher that will do most of the stuff (writing / reviewing / implementing IEP).

Obviously in mixed age classes he'll be with the year above for a while, then with the year below the following year. But teachers are generally more accustomed to teaching to a mixed ability group and planning a range of activities.

Would it be a problem your two being in the same class?

Nurture group sounds super!
Good luck

that would make sense sc, she was giving advice on carrying on with statement and seemed to know a fair bit (although im not sure if all heads are supposed to, the one at our school seems to know less).

the mixed age classes are set up so he can go through the rest of the school being with older kids (except for the very last year of course) so he wont have to be in the same class as his brother, that would be a nightmare!!