Visiting schools while I'm pregnant.

[Sprinkles12345]

We are looking at both state and independent. We are looking now as for independent it's better to have name down the day baby is born. Just wondering will the state schools think I'm a bit odd? has anyone else done this?

You will be hoping they get in until the Easter before they start. Even living next door (if you are in England and an oversubscribed area) does not guarantee a place. If you want certainty then put their name down and decide nearer the time.

"No. But at 3/4 you know how they measure against their peers, and that's basically all the 11+ is"

Rubbish

You'd have more success comparing the parents.

I could have told you which children would sit and pass the 11+ in infants at my dc's school on the basis of the value the parents put on learning, rather than the innate intelligence of the child.

I looked at private schools when ds was 1 and I was pregnant with ds2. We paid the registration fee for 2 schools we really liked and have made
The final
Decision the year before we went to school. We looked at state options in that final year too. For us though, because we'd been thinking private for so long it was hard to look objectively at the state school. E.g I got frustrated how hard it was to find out when an open day was - just one a year and it wasn't advertised and no one seemed to know about it when we rang up.

I hope no one in a state school takes the time to show round a family who won't be attending for four or five years.
Last time I was pg I didn't even buy a pram until a few weeks before the baby was due. I'd love to have felt I could plan four years ahead!
(Assuming this isn't a wind up which it does sound like)

The other thing to remember is that schools can change a lit befire yiur child actually goes to school.

A not so great scholl can sort itself out in that time and an amazing school can have a spectacular fall from grace.

Why would it be a wind up?

Is this your first child OP?

You will 100% know what their personality will be like at 3 years old.

FWIW I have my DS name down for private school and have done since he was 18mths.

State will think you've lost your tiny mind if you visit now.

You can still apply for state and have your DC name down for private.

1. All it takes is for the head teacher to resign and a new one to come in and start making changes. Then your visit will have been for naught, because you now don't have any idea what the school's like, because it's nothing like it was when you visited, before your child was born.

1. Why ask if you weren't prepared to listen to the answers? Are you going to be one of those parents? In which case, by all means visit as many schools as possible so they can make a note of your name and batten down their hatches if they see your child's name on their intake list.

If you are at all concerned about loosing your reg fee, then perhaps paying for private isn't the way to go.

If you are at all concerned about loosing your reg fee, then perhaps paying for private isn't the way to go.

Exactly that!

I've paid several registration fees, of course I will lose them all if I change my mind or DS doesn't suit private

Sprinkles will this be your first?

I knew some schools would not suit ds1 at three. We chose a less popular state school over a highly popular hard to get into village school we were in the catchment for, because of his temperament and the different atmosphere of the school.

But it's ok, you'll get it when the time comes.

"Most of the top private London nurserys and pre--prep schools in London require name down at birth if you want to be on their main list for a list. You can try later but you will end up on a waiting list."

Hardly any require birth registration.

First-come-first served entry schools than the earlier the better, especially the popular nurseries in hot spots.

Schools which manage their lists other than by first-come-first-served you need inky yo register by the deadline, or any time before their lists closes if they guillotine applicati Ms.

But as registration fees only ever get more expensive, you may as well register early. No need to visit before making a birth registration (some schools don't even let you). Just stick down a few by geography or whatever you're looking at, then visit nearer the time.

I've never understood you will know if a school is right for your child. I had no clue about their academic/sporting ability at 4. Also how can you tell from looking around a school what it's strengths and weaknesses are and how it will suit you child. You may know the child but even with recommendations how do you know how the school will be for him/her?

I definitely agree schools change in a few years if there's a change of head.

Go to the 2 private schools and if they seem ok put the money down.

We went to look at private schools when my oldest was 2, for the ones we looked at that was fine, but people do look and register earlier.

Your joking aren't you? Nobody is this naive surely? No schools need registration at birth. Some crap private schools encourage it with a hefty deposit as a way of filling places and brining in money. They inevitably can squeeze you in at any point up to school age. Most children don't transfer until 13 in good independent and have to go through a series of assessments and interview before being offered a place. This usually happens in the year preceding admission. Our second transferred to a top 10 public school in year 12 and the third in year 10 (circumstances necessitated boarding). We certainly never had 'names down' for them or the others who joined in Year 9.
The schools are likely to have changed beyond recognition by the time your bump is ready for their school uniform.

Private prep schools and senior schools do not require registration at birth. For these you simply need to meet the registration deadline, then its comes down to passing 8+, 11+ or 13+ when the time comes. Eton and Harrow fall into this category. Radley is one exception that still expects registration at birth.

However, I could write you a huge list of London private nurseries (entry at 2.5 / 3) and pre-prep schools (entry at reception) where if you aren't on the list from birth then you are not guaranteed a place (or a place on the initial assessment list), and are dependent on others passing up their offer first. A sibling policy can help get around this.

I am not saying you HAVE to register at birth, but if you seriously think you may want a place at one of them, then you have seriously missed a trick of you don't. And I agree that paying multiple registration fees is absolutely the norm, knowing you will lose most of them.

This isn't the point of a thread but I help international families to navigate this process in central London and it really does exist.

Here is a list of nurseries where registration from birth makes a difference:
www.youngenglandkindergarten.co.uk/Admissions/Nursery-Consortium/

And here is one top private pre-prep/prep example where if you want a hope of being one of the 60 offered a place at Reception, then you must be down at birth (or you will end up on their reserve list):
www.thomas-s.co.uk/Admissions-Overview-Battersea

This one is another:
eatonhouseschools.com/admissions/

They don't say they require registration from birth - it is simply a known fact.

Good luck OP!

Crumbs you are right - you don't need names down at the ages you are describing. I am talking about nursery / KH and Reception entry ages.

Do you have a niece or nephew you could borrow?

I'd go and look around the state schools anyway. So what if they think you're odd? If they have open days anybody is welcome. If they ask about your child, you can simply explain "I know I don't have a nursery aged child yet but I'm looking into private schools and I want to know if it's worth paying the registration fee or whether a state school will suit our needs, I'll be back in 3 or 4 years but I just want an idea for now."

Agree with Newts advice - don't bother visiting them before birth...just register for however many you feel ok about paying the registration fee for (and if we are talking about schools where 'the earlier the better' then just have the stack of envelopes ready to post ASAP after birth).

I looked at preschool's before birth - mainly because I knew that I would have a few months after birth where I would be tied up with a newborn.

I'm not sure where you are - if in central London then yes, a few of the pre preps require registration at birth or close to it (a friend found this out when she rang Wetberby to try to put her 18 month down).

In that case, it is sensible to visit the schools before birth. You should also visit again before the assessments, as then you'll know more about your child.

You will need to be fairly philosophical about losing the registration fee if you are registering with a few pre preps.

Sorry, Wetherby

I think SW London counts as a hotspot, and if that's where you're looking and you want to start in a nursery class of a non-selective school pre-prep, then it is prudent to register in the first couple of months of your DC's life. But you don't need to visit until nearer the time of entry.

You'll have a much better idea of what will work for you as a family, and what your DC is like later on. So these early registrations are more like place holders, IYSWIM (so do remember to cancel any if you become sure you don't want to proceed).

Hey OP. It feels shameful to admit after the response you've had, but I'm in a similar position to you. I'm pregnant. Before I got pregnant, when we were looking to buy a family home, I went to a few state school open days and also school events (xmas markets and the like) to get a sense of what they were like. I understand that schools change, but I felt like if I was buying a house in part with a view to raising children there, I wanted to see what the local schools were like now.

I understand that a lot can happen in 4/5 years, but I've now chosen somewhere with 3/4 good schools close by, and I am happy with the risk that some may change for the worse (and others for the better) before I need them.

I must admit I assumed that registration at birth for private schools was needed, but I've just checked the two nearest large pre-preps near me - one wants "a year before their third birthday"; the other has "mid-October in the year prior to admission".

I worked as a teacher and saw a job advertised for head of maths at an independent prep and pre-prep school about which I knew nothing. As there was a prospective parents open day advertised for that weekend, I grabbed DP and we went along. We did not have any DCs nor yet any plans for them and my aim was to anonymously mingle with the parents touring the sch in order for me to see if I wanted to apply for the job. However, half way through the tour, the headmaster sought us out with an enthusiastic handshake and asked us directly how old our children were. DP looked embarrassed and it was left to me to mumble 'Er, we don't actually have any...'. I was also clearly not pregnant and therefore expected the head to think we were a right pair of fools. But no, he clapped DP heartily on the back and bellowed loudly how marvellous it was that prospective parents to be like us were interested enough in our future children's education to view his school. He then led us to another childless couple who were apparently doing the same and then we had an even more awkward conversation when the other couple asked us when we were planning to have our future family... At this point, DP was tugging at my sleeve to leave what he described as 'the open day from hell', but we still hadn't reached the maths department. When we eventually tried to discreetly slink away towards the car park, the headmaster would not let us go without personally introducing us to key members of sch staff, pressing a prospectus pack into our hands and signing us up to receive regular copies of the newsletters.