What Makes a Good Primary

[KnockMeDown]

Have just arranged a round of visits to various local primaries. DD is 3.5 and will be starting next September.

So wanted to ask for tips and advice on what to look out for, both good and bad, on my visits.

Thank-you!

In my experience the Head. I think you need a certain amount of charisma to be a headteacher.

I looked round a few for DS1 (he's 14 now). I walked into the one he went to and just loved the atmosphere and the whole feel. Sounds a bit woo I know.
I did choose a very small village Primary over a bigger one as DS1 was very shy and didn't have much confidence.
DS2 would have gone to a bigger one if he was our first IYKWIM.

Agreed re the head teacher. Other than that a school that 'feels right', a school that is clean and well kept (it might have old buildings but it can still be clean), good displays - children's work not just print outs from web sites.
Lots of books as well. The most important thing of all to my mind is that you have a good gut feeling about the school.

I would 'test' the ones you are interested in by phoning them up and asking to see a certain policy or something specific that you would like to know in more detail about the school.....

See how long it takes them to get back to you......and if they actually come up with a proper answer.

If your request disappears into the ether - do not send your child there!!!!
you will have years of being fobbed off.

I think you just get a 'feel' for a place. I work in a lovely primary school and students, visitors and volunteers all say what a welcoming, happy, stimulating place it is!

Think about.....Do the children look happy? Is the environment bright and inviting?
Speak to other parents, if you know any, to get an opinion.

Make sure you visit during school hours too!

When looking round our closest primary we were shown round by the Head. Not only did he seem to know all the children but some of them came up to talk to him and I liked the way they interacted.

The sane with teachers - they all seemed really caring and as the OFSTED and SATs were good (abd very similar to all the other local schools) I had no concerns there.

The children were happy. The buildings were old which put the shallow friend I was visiting with off.

7 years later my 3 sons are all happy and doing well. Friend chose the nice new school up the road and complains a lot.

That's not supposed to suggest new buildings are a problem, just that old or less attractive ones should not be the main determinant of school choice.

What everyone else here says. Also advice I was given from a teacher. Look to see if there is anywhere the teacher can write and leave things up all day. So not just an electronic whiteboard.

Observe the interactions. children - staff / staff - staff.

When we looked around we visited one school where it didn't matter where you went there was a feeling of unmanaged disorganised chaos, another was calm but the children seemed almost afraid of the head and finally the school we are now at the was calm, peaceful but had a happy, fun atmosphere, the children were respectful but obviously very at ease with the staff they interacted with during our tour.

Study up on the school before going.

Look at trajectory of SATs results over several years (at KS1 & KS2): info here: 1994- 2011 performance: www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/archive/index.shtml

2012 performance: www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/

You want to look for steady results or progressively improving results - if you see a school which is all over the shop - that doesn't bode well.

2013 results won't be publically available for individual schools until Dec - but if a school isn't openly letting you know what last year's results are - that probably isn't a good sign - however, you can always ask at a meeting.

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Look into where the HT is in their cycle. Our school will have our HT retire in the next year or so - now many are pleased about that and we hope things improve at the school with a fresh HT - but it can be the obverse - a great head retires to be replaced by a mediocre/ unpopular/ bullying HT - and the school then goes down hill.

Sometimes there is no avoiding it - but be aware that a HT retiring can be unsettling for a school.

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Does the school seem organised?

Is the website up to date?

Do they have digital whiteboards in classrooms?

Do they have ipads/ tablets/ computers?

If yes to all of the above - ask yourself - did you actually see these gadgets being used during your tour? If they are actively being used and showing that kind of thing off to you - that's a good sign. Even better if you see children happily working away on tablets/ computers/ etc...

Do they have after school activities?

Do they have school dinners? How much?

Do they have music programme?

Is there childcare on offer before/ after school or they have something set up with an independent child carer (e.g. the church associated with the school has before/ after school clubs).

Do they use twitter/ group e-mails to notify parents of important events/ cancelled school due to inclement weather/ arrival times back from field trips/ etc...

How are the office staff? Approachable? Friendly? Professional?

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When you're touring the school consider bringing your DC along - some schools have little sessions with prospective students whilst letting parents tour the school - and it is really interesting to get your child's opinion of the experience. (DD1 had very definite likes/ dislikes - definitely didn't like shouty lady).

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Ask friends/ neighbours about the school - or go to local park and strike up conversation (Where does your son go to school? Oh - we're thinking of applying there - are you happy with the school? - if you note major hesitation - that's not a good sign.

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Check out parent view on your prospective schools: parentview.ofsted.gov.uk/parent-view-results

Finally - relax - there is no making the perfect decision. 7 years is a long time and there will be teachers/ aspects of the school system that drive you crazy (endless requests for money being top of many people's lists) - so try and go for the school that ticks the most boxes

and good luck!

HTH

Wow - thanks for all the replies, especially Past

Just one query - would you in general take your DC if you were going to see quite a few schools? Would they find it a bit unsettling? DD is only 3.5 at the mo, and so happy in her nursery. I don't want to scare her with the next stage just yet...............

Hi KnockedMeDown:

3.5 is young - but visiting schools isn't necessarily scary for them (just us parents who can't believe our little baby is starting school and feel Y6 pupils are gigantic).

You know your DD best - but my DD really enjoyed her visit days.

We only visited two nearest schools - as we were pretty clear it would be one or the other that accepted us based on distance:

One school: Attended assembly, toured around school with me and then played with Year R pupils in wet play whilst parents and tea/ coffee and question/ answer session with HT (unfortunately this was when shouty lady appeared).

Other school: Attended talk but basically drew in colouring book during talk. Walked around school with me and enjoyed some fruit during break in year R.

HTH

Forgot to say:

I found the visiting schools bit helpful in letting DD understand where she might be going - but at the time I didn't understand that she would have 'getting to know you' sessions at her school in July before starting.

If your local schools run these sessions (and you can e-mail contact e-mail at schools to check) - then yes, there is no harm in not taking her along at this stage and in 9 months time at 4 years 2 months - she may be more ready for the idea (and if at nursery - they'll also be working to prepare her for concept of going to school).

HTH

We only took DD to one school, it was a day she didn't go to nursery and we have no-one who could take her for 1hr.

I found it distracting. She got bored during the talk and walking around a building as we were going with the deputy head not Year 6 children like in other schools. She also was just 3, Summer born, and I think she had no idea what a school is.

When I went on my own or just with DH we found that lots of parents who took smaller children were distracted, dealing with them to keep them quite and not really able to follow the talk or ask questions.

We visited four - two indies, two state.

The Head made a difference - their willingness to listen to us as well as talk at us. The children - were they enthusiastic, confident enough to talk to visitors? The ethos of the school, the things that matter to them - we wanted shared values. How engaged the children seemed with their work, and with their teachers.

One primary won hands down, for us. The one where the Head asked us to talk to the children and ask about their work - as opposed to the ones where the Head/Bursar/School Manager either didn't let us meet any children, or asked us to notice how well behaved they were.

Have a look at the Ofsted reports, talk to the Head, and then go with your gut instincts

The head, when I went to view schools for The Cub, the head knew the names of all the children and they were eager to show him what they were doing or just talk to him.

The amount of books available was important for me.

A good not necessarily outstanding Ofsted.

For us, an inclusive policy for children with special needs etc. was important. The Cub is not SN but it was important for us that he mix with children of all backgrounds and abilities, because I'm a soft lefty.

ILikedItSoMuchIBecameAGovernorTiggaxx

A strong head,consistency and a good level of parental information.

Sadly not always obvious so you might need to dig a little.