Questions to ask when visiting pre-preps/junior schools

[nannynome]

We are going to visiting some of the pre-preps and junior schools in our area in the hope that we can find the right one for DS. He is only 9 months so we are looking at 2/3year old entry depending on the school. Any thoughts on what questions to ask? Obviously wrap around care as we are both working parents, I want to also ask about music and languages. I thought asking here, people may share their wisdom on what they asked/forgot to ask/wish they had known! Thanks

I would ask about how they deal with things like friendship issues, bullying, that sort of thing. Do parents have open-door access to teachers? What links are there between home and school?

One of the biggest things for me, was looking at the behaviour of the children at the school - do they seem friendly, polite, happy, productively active.

What kind of PE/games/sports do they do, is it all about getting into teams, or is everyone included?

How is the move from nursery to school handled?

Thank you for those thoughts :) trying to get my head organised when I have just come off maternity into a new job and don't seem to have enough hours in the day! At least we are north so not as pressured over registering places instantly!

It will seem ridiculously early but it is worth thinking about whether the school is set up for 11+ or 13+. IME it is v rare for a school to do both well, though with the increase in pre testing for CE offers, that may be changing. Also if you both work, you need to check expectations on homework (one school wanted a model of a space shuttle done in one evening), and how much notice is given for sports fixtures etc (one of my schools promised 48 hours notice, the other 24 hours notice - tricky if you're not physically around and need to co-ordinate lifts with other parents).