Questions to ask at a prep open day

[edu1990]

Hi all, first time mum here currently looking at schools for my DS.

I’m viewing a school early next week for September entry (nursery this year, reception next year) - we registered him early so he has a secured place but we couldn’t get to view until now.

What questions were important to you to ask at your viewings/tours? Is there anything you wish you had asked /looked out for that you didn’t?
I have a few questions noted around wraparound care, structure of the day etc. but I’m sure there are things I’ve missed

Thanks!

As it's a prep:

• level of homework
• do they ever 'advise that children might be better suited elsewhere' if child turns out to have SEN
• at what point do they start advising on potential follow on schools
• do they prep for state 11+ (if in a grammar area)

Then of course all the usual stuff for any school like how do they teach reading, clubs, support for SN / stretch for higher ability.

When looking round: Do you want your child to be like the older kids when older (are they polite, interested/engaged, confident, educated)

Thank you @TeenDivided this is helpful!

If it’s not in their prospectus. Number of students per year group, number of boys and girls. Which schools they compete with in sport. What are the numbers like in higher years.
do they have a parents group.
additional fees (often music).
assembly, having family attend special events.

Do they have a cap on the class limit? Some prep schools can have classes of 12 and others around 20.
The local prep here max's out at 16 and then makes a new class, so will make two classes of 8, vs having one large class of 16.
Some years have a huge intake, so if they have a large intake when your child starts Reception, it's good to be aware how big will they make the classes, as I've been surprised at how big some prep schools will stretch a class size.

What % of pupils are SEN

How many have been moved here due to a behavioural issue from previous schools

Staff turnover in the lower and upper schools.

You are looking for experienced and stable teachers in prep. Turnover could mean leadership grumbles and new staff might not have prep experience in knowing what/how secondary independents want/work. It takes years of getting kids through the exams to learn about how different schools' admissions works and their nuances.

Unfortunately this was the first thing that came to mind. I doubt they would be honest about the latter though.
I say this as my son joined an independent junior school that we absolutely love - they are amazing with children with SEN (and children generally) and because of this, more parents are moving their children there. Hardly any have EHCPs (and even if they did, funding is more complex in private schools), so the TA is assigned to one child more or less and the teacher also has others with additional needs to keep more of an eye on. They do a cracking job and it’s fine for us as by some miracle my son enjoys working and picks things up quickly, but I wouldn’t be so happy if my other sibling was in a similar class as they wouldn’t get the support we may expect.
This seems to be more of a trend now for obvious reasons, but it is something to be mindful of. What questions you ask to get the answers I’m not sure - maybe more speaking to current parents in that year group.

I wouldn't bother with open days - very hit and miss. Go for private tours and ask prior to tour to see all years being taught in the school.

Observe whether there is appropriate banter with teachers - we discounted those with silent classrooms. Debate and interaction helps subject matter to sticks. I think it also reduces stress if they have a relationship with their teachers and helps with issues too, such as bullying- happier / more open to talk to staff. We shortlisted school's were boys /girls were clearly equal in the class in terms of confidence.

Ask if they have Saturday school or significant sports attendance on a Saturday - those with significant weekend commitments we also discounted. We value our downtime and like to build friendships outside school.

Also ask if they provide their scholarships achievements and offers for secondary list - most have it on their website. This is one we didn't ask and actually would have indicated if they had prepped for our selected school. Ask how they prep for the 11plus and what year they start.

Staff turnover - useful but doubt if provided. Friends have also experienced job share situation - two teachers sharing class. Twice this has happened and it's been a disaster. Again doubt it would be shared.

Any plans for an entirely new uniform - can add £1000 if your can't buy from schools preloved section and it may role on in future years if your child's height is at the top of the range for the year.

Catchment - we benefited from quite a few children from our class being in a small radius of the school especially in the early years when playdate were happening more. Lead to a really strong, easy class for years.

I would ask whether there are separate toilets for girls and boys throughout the school.

Near me, we have schools with all 'gender neutral' toilets.

This causes distress for girls who end up not drinking water during the day so they don't have to use these facilities.

Thanks all for the very helpful advice! A great mix of responses that will be invaluable for the viewing!

Agree on the SEN point.

@Sb123455 and @HappiDaze I’ve looked at the get information government page for the school and it has a very low SEN percentage. For your respective schools have you found the website to be accurate or is it out of date?

https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/

The website breaks down the number of SEN students on a plan and also not on a plan as well as a percentage of the school pop.

You've had great responses. I'd also ask

1. Do the run sets for different subjects and if so from what age does that start
2. How learning support is delivered if needed
3. Their approach to well-being and pastoral support-- a good school now will have a range of strategies they employ around this. There should be specifics not just generic platitudes
4. Ask how the field sport and if everyone gets to represent the school. Is participating obligatory etc and which sports are on offer
5. Are subject specialists teaching and if so, which subjects and from when
6. Ask how music is delivered
7. Ask how languages are taught if its not already clear - one language through out and is it immersive or not
8. How the most able are extended and how they manage differentiation

quite a sneaky trick got pulled on me once, i was organising an open day type visit by phone, on the call they asked me a good number of questions about my daughter, her likes and dislikes, it almost seemed like a full Myers-Briggs, when we got there on the day we were shown round by a girl who'd very blatantly, especially looking at some of the other pairings, been hand picked to be my daughter's 'type' [wallflower, hates sport, etc]. my daughter came away thinking that the girls there were exceptionally nice & wanting to go there.

Re the government figures - our schools aren't on there, are most preps?
The figures in the recent ISI reports clearly state how many have ehcps v how many have other needs. I have no reason to disbelieve them (numbers quite high) but it doesn’t show the yearly spread of children so doesn’t help think about that particular class?

@edu1990 Many people around here choose a prep based on future destination. Where do DC go after the prep? As we are a grammar county, is the prep a grammar crammer or are Dc going boarding? Makes a big difference.

SEN is not a big feature at any prep I know. Most do not get inspected by ofsted so you won’t always know up to date figures. Many schools take mild dyslexia and not much else. Often extra charges for SEN help too.

Do not just look at nursery/yr. Look very closely at how the school is organised above this. Are there subject specialist teachers? Is there great sport, art, drama and music? Are Dc lively and engaged? Class sizes will be smelled than state but are there enough Dc for friendships? Is this school big enough for Dc to flourish? I would not use a tiny prep and I would expect great teaching and facilities - otherwise why pay?