When did you start looking at primary schools for your children?

[mumtoone]

I curious to know how early people start looking round primary schools for their children. I'd also be interested to know how many schools you looked at.

We have to fill in a form with our choice of primary school for DS in the spring before he is due to start school, so we will probably go & look round the schools sometime in teh autumn term.

So it will be shortly before DS is 4.

We'll look at 2, but I guess that depends on how many there are in your area?

State schools here (Essex) are allocated by a clearing house type system, so there is no advantage to "putting your name down" early.
I looked at the two closest to me when dd1 was 3, and was offered my 2nd choice.(Shortly after she turned 4) She got into my 1st via a waiting list, but the idea that you have a choice is a bit of a fantasy in many areas IMO.

officially in east sussex you have virtually no time at all in which to decide. you get the forms mid january, are expected to look around on open days the end of jan, & express a preference by first week of feb doesnt give you much time really. the sensible parent should be doing their reasearch far earlier & look around the year before.
all the schools in my previous area were cr@p so i choose the best of a bad bunch. thankfully we have now moved & schools are much better.

When ds had just turned 3 , but that was because we were moving abroad. Normal open days were in July and September for applications to be in by end of October( to start the following September). Looked at 2 state and 3 private. For a private school he could already only be accommodated on the waiting list and even then didn't get a place until Year 3

Do many people look at schools a year earlier than they need to apply? My ds is not due to go to school for another 2 years however I don't know children at the local schools so I'm starting from a position of little knowledge. I've read OFSTED reports but a thorough visit to the schools in the area is obviously key in selecting our preferences.

I looked around the 3 closest local schools (all ones I knew we had a chance of getting into) - I looked when dd was around 2 and a bit because we had to apply for a place in their nursery class fairly early on (I think when she was about 2 and a half because she's a summer baby).

I work in a school so naturally sent my children there. I put there names down a year before they were due to start.

Looked at state primaries at the start of this academic year (so September 2005), knowing we would have to have the primary applications in by January 2006.

Looked at private prep schools when DD was a year old, and put her name down for two (no fee involved) at that time. She was not, by far, the first on the list.

Does your lo go to a preschool or playgroup where others may have older siblings already at school.That may give you an opportunity to get some hearsay info but bear in mind people rarely admit their own choice's failings ! Are any local schools having summer fetes etc to which you could casually go along to get a feel for the school ? The trouble with relying on Ofsted, League Tables and a visit now is that things could have easily changed in the meantime and you'd be basing your decision on potentially old info. Some schools possibly wouldn't spare you time for an individual visit now anyway as they will be focussing on the next year's intake first.

DS is 2 and just started looking at 2 closest to me now. One is a church school which has an attached nursery which I would have to apply for jan 07 if I wanted him to go there.

If he went to the other school I would have to chose another pre-school for him to attend and get him on the list as they have no attached nursery. Otherwise I would probably have waited until he was 3 or so.