If you aren't that impressed by the head is it wise to not send your DC to the school?

[Meglet]

I took DS to see an infant school today and TBH I was not that keen on the headteacher. She didn't speak to DS and spent most of the time commenting on the recent building changes to the school, very little about the actual teaching or children.

My instinct is to cross that school off the list and go for the schools where the headteachers seem to be interested in the children.

Am I worrying too much or does the head make all the difference?

(should have put this in AIBU really )

head makes all the difference I reckon

yy agree head sets the tone. it really does matter.

It depends. I disliked ours from the word go, but actually sometimes they surprise you.

Ours has been difficult in the past but now we have a sort of reluctant mutual respect.

She is v good on some things and nicer to the kids than I had thought.

However there have been issues on which she has not been helpful.

It's a balance - you have to work out what you really need from a school and whether that will be covered. If you suspect you'll disagree, go elsewhere.

Yes the Head does make a difference and is very important in setting the ethos of the school.

However if this school is your NEAREST school and has a good level of teaching and other schools in your area are very oversubscribed it may be a good idea to put it down as one of your choices.

Remember Headteachers can change of the 3 schools that we put down as our choices all 3 had different Heads within 3 years. One moved to another school, one retired and the other left teaching.

Go with your gut, I wish I had. The head at the present school where ds is is very unpersonable and cold. The head i met today was wonderful, and her school reflected it too.

Thanks all. Good to know I'm not daft for wanting to avoid the school.

I will put it down as one of our choices but with a bit of luck ds will get into the school with the lovely head instead .

I think you should follow your gut instinct. Howeveri must mention that our head has very bad interpersonal skills with adults but is fab with the kids.

I would trust your instinct, tbh.

We had the opposite experience - school didn't look that great on paper, but Head was wonderful, gave loads of time, was totally child orientated, kids loved her, and she was very on the ball. School is wonderful, it turns out.

Go with your gut instict, Head is v. important.

We had a Head who was horrible to everybody pretty much. The school still got good results on paper but nobody was particularly happy

DH and I visited a school with a Head teacher who believed that the romans invented democracy This put us off straight away.

A friend sent her children to this school. The head took the children to Brighton Pavillion two weeks ago and told them that the palace was built for Henry VIII.

I can tell you, i think my DCs had a lucky escape. Trust your instinct.

I agree with others - definitely go with instinct about Head Teacher as I did a few years ago. I remember being shown around my DS's school by Head Teacher as she was apologising for leaking ceilings etc. But she was still extremely proud of her school and pupils. (The school is great and has since undergone building works and gone from being undersubscribed to full.)

I would rule it out. The Head teacher is all important and not talking to DS is a bad sign.

Well the school DD goes to is great and she loves it. Very inclusive, all the children help each other and play together, big emphasis on pastoral care and being kind to each other etc, etc. But I absolutely loathe the HT. She lacks any social skills and is quite strange too. She doesn't like me either (mainly because I rate HE above her school) and I just avoid her like the plague. So it is possible to hate the head and love the school.

I should make sure that you are the only one though -very often the staff hate her too and it doesn't make for a happy school.
I don't believe that anyone can be a good Head and not talk to the DC-on your walk around the school DCs should have come up to the Head and wanted to show things. She should have known every name.

I really don't like the Head at DS2 school. I find her false and she has her favourite parents!!! I remember walking down the path with another parent whose children were very musical, and mum was very much involved with the PTA. Headmistress knows me. She said it parent is such a smarmy voice 'Oh hellooooooo Mrs ......., How are yooooou?' I didn't even get an ' A'right'!!! It was so funny.

In recent years I only go up to the school for social events, parents evenings and drop kit off that has been left at home. However Ds2 asked me to go and ask about accelerated reading. Mrs Headteacher sees in at the reception and said in a weary voice ' yes mrs upahill ...... what is it now?' I laughed to myself for hours after that

(I think she doesn't like me!!)

However she gets results and she has good teachers and DS2 likes her.

(7 1/2 months left!!!!!)

I didn't like the head when I visited. But now he's fine - the children like him, the school is good according to OFSTED and according to me, I like almost all of the teachers, the kids like it.....in retrospect I think he was having a bad day when he showed me around and he probably isn't the best promoter of the school in any case. Heads matter a lot but I'm not sure it matters whether you get along with them on a personal front.