What do you wish you'd asked at a primary open day?

[UpsyDaisyMegaphone]

Going to visit some primary schools over the next few weeks.

What did you ask that was really useful, and what didn't you ask about that you wish you had?

Asking how the behaviour policy works. So if my child is rude or defiant what happens? What happens the time after that. How is good behaviour is encouraged, celebrated?
Reading, what do the school do and what do they expect parents to do.
Homework, do they do it? If so, why? What happens if homework is not done?

How do they start in reception? Eg do they all start full days or is it half days for weeks? As a working parent this was a real issue for me

How much homework do they get?

Thanks these are all great!

What clubs do you have at lunchtime and what level of supervision on the playground?
The idea they all just play happily is bollocks. So many find free play quite tricky - supported play and alternative activities being available make children much happier. Also watch out for football domination - this is a sign of laziness.

What happens in your school if my child doesn't finish their meal? Some schools are like the 1950s and force children to eat.

What happens in your school if my child is bullied? You might get a textbook answer, but one school told me 'we don't have any bullying' so I crossed it straight off the list.

What would you do in this school if my child didn't want to sing/be on stage in the school play? Schools that can adapt around the non-essentials are the best schools.

How often am I invited into school and how can I speak to the teacher? Schools that make it easy to communicate are better.

And: does your school do 100% attendance awards? This is a sign of a non-inclusive school.

Agree re: attendance awards. Is there an afterschool club?

What is the wrap around provision like. Also are reception children entitled to use the before and after school clubs from day one or do they have to wait until they are 5. I've worked in a surprisingly large amount of schools where they had to be 5 due to ratios and this naturally took a lot of parents by surprise.

What is the wrap around provision like. Also are reception children entitled to use the before and after school clubs from day one or do they have to wait until they are 5.

I came on to say this. Many schools don't have wrap around care, or it starts at 8.30am and finishes at 4pm, which isn't much use for many parents. In addition to this a lot of schools have limited places at their wrap around, so even if your reception child is able to use it there may be a waiting list.

Is wraparound care always available or is it over-subscribed?

I wish I'd asked more about the wrap around care or even if we could view it - we are going to have to put our Reception age DD in after school club once a week and I have absolutely no idea what activities they're offered or what they have to eat, etc. I think the quality varies massively from school to school.

These are all really good questions! The first one I went to I could ask lots, but the second you had to queue up for ages at the end so I felt a lot went unanswered.

I think I need to follow up about the wrap around as I asked some of it but the above has made me realise what I forgot to ask!

Agree about asking about wraparound care even if you don't need it at the moment it's useful to know! We viewed a few schools and our favourite had a 3 year wait list for after school wraparound so that was a no.

It depends really on what your priorities are- DS has asthma so for us it was knowing what their procedures were for medication (schools aren't legally obligated to administer any but of course the vast majority have staff trained to do so) and attendance as he had a lot of appointments at that age.

How do they organise their swimming lessons

How is teachers' PPA covered? Senior staff? Early finish Friday? Specialist teaching slot? Or TAs/LSAs (last option shows they're out of money and out of options)

I asked the question about the first few weeks and how long is the day at the start and for how long is the staggered start in place.
The answer was detailed explaining to me how it lasts x number of weeks, two hours for a week, followed by half days etc. I asked was it necessary or optional as I work and really awkward to arrange this. I also said as my child was in day care, they werent likely to need a staggered start. The head closed me down and said they do need it and it is necessary.
It gave me a good picture of the type of leader she is. No discussion and not willing to listen.

To taste the lunch menu.

At the open day I went to they lied to us so much :(

I asked what’s the usual distance to get in, how do they deal with bullying, what’s the food like and how do they teach children who are currently well ahead of their peers. They gave wonderful answers to all of these questions but it all turned out to be rubbish and after a couple of very crap years we left.

Good luck! If they say “we don’t get much bullying” that means they don’t know what’s going on, or ignore it.