what should I look for in a primary school?

[SoTiredOfTheWheelsOnTheBus]

DS will start reception class next year. The local primary schools are starting to arrange their prospective parents open-evenings, and tours of the classrooms. We'll be visiting the local schools, but what should we be asking/looking out for? I know it's quite a general question, and I've looked at the "choosing a primary" section. If you could choose your child's primary school, what clinched it for you? Were there any decisions you made at the time which in retrospect you wouldn't have chosen?

We have a choice of a couple of schools - both have good KS2 SATs (couldn't get hold of the KS1 results). One is smaller (one class per year group), closer to home, more of DS's friends will be going to this one. It prides itself on the close and friendly atmosphere, has a good OFSTED report.

The other is a bit larger (two classes per year group), but it's further away, so I've been advised by friends who have children here that that makes it harder for their children to go round to other children's houses after school.This one has an outstanding OFSTED review.

What should I be looking out for to help me make the right decision. I'm also a big believer in 'how something feels' - once I visit the schools, if one feels wrong, I'm happy to discount it. I'm just after some advice in case they both seem good.

When I went round the primary school my dd now attends, I was very struck by how safe and happy it felt. The children looked like they were enjoying themselves. The older children were also very helpful and polite.

This swung it for me as I believe that if a child feels safe and happy, the learning will surely follow.

I have not been disappointed and have just signed up ds to start next year.

stats are all very well, up to a point but your gut instinct is more important and you can definately trust it!

Hello. OK - a warning: This is going to be a bit of a hippy post, so you might want to set your computer to it's hippiness-filter setting.

This is the first thing: It sounds as though you have two good schools to choose from, so be happy. What it means is, you can afford to think about which, of these two, will best suit your dd and your family. That's so great!

We moved dd a while back, from a school she wasn't having such a great time at. Bizarrely, two offers of schools came through on the same day. One was a two-form "outstanding" school, the other was a one-form "good" school.

I really loved both of them. The "outstanding" school was zippy and creative, with masses of opportunities in music and art. The "good" school was warm and just seemed saturated in kindness. The "good" school was (marginally) closer, though it has to be said, still a distance away.

We opted for the "good" school, because we thought dd really did need a massive dose of happiness. It has worked out really well, so much so, that I'm sure she would have been fine at the other school. But it's quite probable that's down to the school we chose. Who knows?

Anyway, I think you should visit both, and perhaps you'll get a feel for which you prefer; a feeling which will really be telling you which suits you all better. And I say "all" of you because you possibly have more than one child? so you might want something that fits with all of you.

Good luck, and I hope it works out for you.

Yikes! Of course, the grammatical error in that post is ironic ....

I'm looking atm. We're looking at choosing between 6! I have read ofsted reports, talked to parents, looked at opportunities for sport and extra-curricular stuff etc etc.

What has surprised me most is the gut feeling you get on actually looking round, talking to staff and talking to the children. I have found the same thing that several friends have. The ones you like on paper aren't necessarily the ones you like in reality. The school I'd almost dismissed, I have fallen in love with by visiting. The one that's excellent on paper, I did not like in the slightest. And dd fell in love with the one I liked too. It felt right.

gut feel

I think at primary, unless the ofsted is really bad that and stats are kind of irrelevant. Look around, talk to the staff - you'll know :)

Definitely gut feel - we were in the fortunate position of being equidistant from two "outstanding" schools. They had completely different atmospheres though and I far preferred one to the other, which prior to viewing them, I didn't expect to happen.

I think that OFSTEDs can be quite subjective depending on who did the report, how they were feeling that day etc. etc. Also, your child's experience will depend on which teachers they get and the children who happen to be in their class, which to a large extent is down to chance.

Head teachers also change.

Given all this, I think gut feeling is as good a guide as anything else.