Do schools have open evenings for parents of prospective pupils?

[AlanMoore]

I would really like to attend something like this if they exist...should I contact the office at the schools and ask to be put on mailing list or something?

Will be applying for 2014 entry but if you think about it that means there are only 4 terms before application has to go in and I would like to visit all our local schools to see if I have any strong preferences - I realise I sound like a bit of an eager beaver but I don't put much store by Ofsted/league tables for primary,

I want a school with a good head and a nice ethos and would like to get a decent feel for what they are all like before I do the form - our nearest is oversubscribed (highest SATS results, "good" Ofstead) but I really really dislike the head from his "welcome" on the website, he seems quite cold and smug [irrational emoticon].

My friend is a teacher and told me to ring round and ask if I can meet heads, but will they not think I am a maniac if I do this so early? I know I sound quite pfb about this and I am but only in terms of them being HAPPY at school (I wasn't). Me and DP are also fairly "community minded", he volunteers in a secondary school and I would like to perhaps give a hand with reading practice or something...

oh, I meant to say I've been prompted to post this by friend absolutely devastated because she got a school she didn't apply for - I would like to minimise the risk of this happening to me so want to check out the ones that aren't oversubscribed in particular.

My dd will be in 2013 entry so not applied yet but i rang two schools im interested in and i have a visit for each scheduled next week. I actually spoke to the head of one when dd was 2 and he was more than happy for me to go in but ive waited til now, she's 3.5. But thats more cos it governs whether i keep her at her current preschool or not.

Call them. Mine have positively welcomed the idea.

Some primary schools do have open days/evenings (I would prefer day time as you can see the children in the school which is better than an evening when they're not there I think). Other ones are happy for you to visit on your own.

I think some schools schedule visits in around October or November before you apply.

Have just realised you said for 2014 entry - do you mean that or 2013? 2014 entry would mean your child was born 2009/2010 so they could still be one at the moment? If that is the case possibly a little early to visit. For 2013 entry you would be applying by January 2013 and I would say looking round September to December 2012.

Schools normally have open days or evenings around the time that people are having to fill in admissions forms - in October/November round here. Headteachers should be able to show prospective parents round at other times though.

I personally am not sure I would bother too much at this stage (unless you might be looking at a plan b such as moving or going private if you hate everything) - schools may well change an awful lot between now and your DC starting. My DC are 2 school years apart but the school has changed so much that DD is practically going to a different school!

Last year reception had open afternoons (in school hours) for new starters, in local schools. That was for kids starting Sept 2012.

Our head welcomes requests from parents (existing or prospective) to visit the school and will usually take them on a tour himself. I gather though that the over-subscribed schools locally are less keen.

Open evenings are arranged before the children start, but that will be after they've been offered a place.

Thanks everyone - it is 2014 entry, I am just ahead of myself!

I might get in touch with the heads of the two schools I really like the look of while I am on maternity leave this year, and maybe see if they can use me to help with reading or something, I know this is something they have struggled with. It'd give me a heads up on how schools actually ARE nowadays too.

I'm a bit reluctant to wait til the "official sales period" iyswim, I think I know too many teachers...

There's no plan B! I'm a nosy git though :)

But what you will see this year, may well be totally different by the time that your child is eligible for school???

Yes, I understand that, but I would like to sort of keep an eye on the schools over the period and see what I think - eg one near us had "good" Ofsted at the end of 2008, then was on notice to improve in 2011, but was graded as "good" again in March - same head, but some issues in the local area contributing to things going a bit weird...the DC will be at the school for 7 years so would prefer to take somewhere that isn't great in Sep 2014 but has been consistently ok rather than somewhere that has one good year then slides back into mediocrity with high staff turnover.

Mine just let you look round when you wanted (by appointment). It's much better to look round during a normal school day I think than on a special open day when they'll be putting on a show.

I've been to several open days. But I haven't heard of an open evening yet. (I guess you couldn't see much teaching going on in the evening.)

I think most schools do an open morning/day as this gives the parent the chance to see the school in action. During an evening you just meet the head and the teachers.

Also, at most primary schools the children from year 6 actually showed us around and we then met again with the head for any questions we had. Only at the Infant schools we were shown around by teachers.

In our borough the primary schools have their open days after the Summer term as the admission process is between October - January.

While I read Ofsted reports I found they only tell one side of the story. First they can be a couple of years old, secondary they don't give an idea about how the interaction is between pupils and teachers, what the children do and how the school actually looks. I actually dismissed a school with a brilliant review because I felt it was just too much grade driven and less fun to be in.

TBH I am a little concerned that if large numbers of parents did what you want to do, then there would be a constant stream of people coming into my children's classes which would be disruptive. Plus you would be using someone's time and I'd rather they got on with delivering an education for the existing children.

One of the most popular schools near where I live, will simply not allow any parent in for a look around, unless its a one of the semi-annual open mornings or a place has been offered. I found it difficult to work with when I was looking for a school but it made me realise that the head had got her priorities right.

I'm not asking to go into lessons, I just want to meet someone from the staff and get a feel for the school, that's why I wondered if there were open events where you could go and see - an open morning would be great. But if you don't already have DC in school it's hard to know what might be available without contacting the school isn't it?

I also saw a few schools the year before we were due to apply so I could narrow down which ones we might really be interested in applying for. Dh and I visited them again in the year of the application and visited the one we actually preferred (and thankfully got) twice in the year of application.

However all the visits were on scheduled open mornings. We were shown round by the head teacher or deputy except for one school where it was Yr6 pupils. I don't think it meant anyone was taken away from their day jobs.

Surely if it will be disruptive the school would simply say no to visits. So I'd say go ahead. You would look at a house a few times before committing to buy so why be lax in choosing a school for your child which is more important IMO. Though technically the choice is not really yours somewhat.

I do see it from your point of view. The thing is I don't think you really get any insight into a school from an open day as the circumstances are so artificial (you don't get to see how it really is). Its difficult enough to judge if you can go into the classrooms, but just looking at the art work on the walls and hearing the head give a utopian idea of how she'd like the school to be would be very difficult.

I changed my DCs primary last year and even though I knew some of the pitfalls to look out for, it was still a shot in the dark. All I knew for sure was that it wasn't the previous school and that made the switch worthwhile.

I learned too much about the first school by volunteering and I knew that there would be no third chance so whatever my children got in the school we switched to, I/ they would just have to put up with it. I was so scared that I'd get it wrong again though, that I only recently volunteered once I was fairly sure that it was going to be ok this time.

The best way I can think of to find out what a school is really like would be to be able to look at the complaints file, but you have no chance of being allowed to see that!

I agree that until your child is actually there in the school, you will not know if it's the right school or not for your dc.

However, one can only use the resources available to make the most informed decision at the time, right or wrong you will find out over time.

A LOT of my friends are teachers, several at KS1 stage but sadly they all work in the next LEA over or in faith schools so aren't too brilliant at spying for me!

I have got quite a good horse poo detector for people like headteachers so I don't think they'd be able to totally bamboozle me - also I am going to speak to the staff at nursery to see what they know about the local primaries. Going on the local kids as well I just somehow don't like the one nearest us that is meant to be so brilliant, it also makes me uncomfortable that this is a really racially diverse area but that school is 90% white whereas the one across the road is 40% south Asian. I'd rather my DC went somewhere representative of real life!

It's just awkward isn't it, before I had kids I thought you just put the kid's name down a few months before for the nearest school, but due to my teacher mates I know different now!