What should I ask at school open days?

[UnicornsPooGlitter]

DS starts school next September, so DH and I are going to some school opens days soon. It's all a bit new to us though - does anyone have any hints / tips? Thanks .

Unashamedly marking place.

Also marking place

I went to a few last year, ds started in Reception this year.
My "deal breaker" Q was about availability of wrap around care.

We had the choice of three very good or outstanding local primaries, so other Qs were to do with class size, access to the outdoors, how the address special needs (ds doesn't have any that I am aware of) and familiarisation before starting school. In the end, the deciding factors were gut feeling and convenience. I took ds with me, as I wanted to see how tfe staff treated him. I deleted a school from consideration when they told me that non of their pupils have any special needs at all. Erm no, of course not. I took it as an indicator that they are not good at picking up on such issues, or chose to ignore them. Maybe if it was a tiny school, but it has 300 pupils.

If you're being shown round by an older child, my favourite question is "if you had a little brother or sister, would you like them to come here?"

staff turnover is a telling question. outdoor space. rewards. go with your gut feeling. if shown around by staff is headteacher or reception staff, look at how he/she interacts with kids, does he/she know the names etc.

No advice on questions as I didnt have a clue either but please listen to your gut instinct.

We viewed 2 schools:

School 1:
Modern
lots of facilities very large library, music room with what seemed like brand new instruments full size drum kit etc
In a nice area
lots of provision for intervention when kids struggling with something
2 form intake
Lovely garden feel to the playing field area
excellent ofsted reports and sats scores

School 2
Old building 60s flat roof style
Small school so small library small music room not many instruments very old looking ekectronic keyboards etc
In an area of highly transient low or no income families lots of hmo
Didnt find out anything about provusion for SEN apart from well Mrs X helps them
1 form intake some classes with only 15 pupils
Massive playing field little.in the way of landscaping but lots of space to play
Not so good ofsted.but not bad and sats not as good.

Everyone thought we were crazy fir picking school 2 but it really.just felt right and both kids have absolutely thrived there.

How do they cover PPA is an interesting one, do TA's lead the class, or do they get a language or PE specialist in to enhance the curriculum?
It is more about the 'feel' of the place though. I fell for our first choice as they are a real community school that really values things like May Day and theatre trips. Word of warning though, remember you aren't choosing the primary, merely expressing a preference, so make sure you have a real chance of getting into your chances or you will end up allocated the undersubscribed school no one wanted.good luck, it's a tough Time until the April date when decisions come through!

Ask about bullying. If they say there isn't any, leave at that point. Even if it's a lovely little private school that grows all its own vegetables and keeps goats.

Even if there genuinely isn't any at that moment, they need to be very clear what they will do if there is next week. Which there will be.

If it has any events open to the public like a Christmas fair, go to it. You'll get a brilliant view of how kids and teachers interact.

What you ask is important but so is what you observe. Look at the work on the walls - is a full range of abilities evident? Does the head teacher know the children and speak to them as they go past?

Are teachers polite and welcoming or do they make you feel like pupils. If your child is with you, how do they speak to him/her? You can read Ofsted reports all you like but your own gut feelings are very important.

When is homework introduced? How long are children expected to work at home? (Some parents demand it, some do not approve of it for the younger end of the primary school). What reading scheme is used and how is reading taught?

Ask teachers if they would send their children to the school (don't expect a straight answer but observe the body language). Ask how long members of staff have been at the school - high turnover is a red flag.

When you visit can you see all over the school or are you excluded from parts of it?

How much physical activity is there?

What input does the PTA have. Are there social/fundraising events?

Ask for details of the bullying policy. If you are told there is no bullying this is a red flag. There is always some but what matters is how it is dealt with

Google to find out if there have been any adverse articles about the school in the local press.

Ask shopkeepers local to the school for their impressions.

Do pupils appear lively and happy on the whole?

Hope at least some of this is helpful.

Thanks everyone, that's all really helpful . I'm going to get DH to read this too.

I'm also watching this thread! We are very near an 'Outstanding' rated school, and looking at last year's criteria, we are likely to get in. Anecdotally I've heard parents refer to it as very good "but" very academic. Feel nervous about asking some of these questions, how much time generally do you get one on one with a staff member?

Can I watch this thread too?

Quick question (hope you don't mind, OP), if the school's policies are on their website do you still need to ask?

How do you judge the head's answer to the turnover question? What's normal?

OK. Here's a list which may help others. I've added to my own questions using ideas in this forum.

• Look at their Ofsted report and ask questions about it (if you have any!)
• Look at the school’s performance data on the DfE website - ask any questions you may have about this.
• Full or over-subscribed schools e.g. why was your school full/oversubscribed in 2013? – down to new housing estate? other factors?)
• Once the parents have accepted a place, how soon do you first contact them? And does this contain a schedule, with dates, for introducing the child to the school?
• ‘Schools are required to publish their prospectus online’ (see your Schools admissions handbook) – why don’t you? (few round my way seem to do this
• Are meals cooked on premises? What form do these take? How long are children given to eat? Do teachers sit with them whilst eating?
• How do you deal with bullying?
• When is homework introduced? How long are children expected to work at home?
• How long have members of staff have been at the school? – what’s the turnover like?
• How much physical activity is there?

That's very helpful. I'm expecting us to be going round the school in a great horde of other parents, are we likely to actually meet the head?

Oh, but this is stressful and complicated . Thanks again for all of the ideas, I'm listing...

We were shown around personally by the head, and given plenty of time for individual questions. (I looked a bit thick, because I didn't really have any.)

Asking local shopkeepers is a great idea.

Feel tells you a lot, we were suspicious of one school because the children were too quiet. Ask about how they deal with toilet accidents - there are many horror stories on here over the years about the shocking ways some schools operate.

Hi Unicorn:

DDs are Y4 and Y6 now - but as hindsight is 20:20 this is what I would ask now:

Does class R start full-time or do they only do a few days a week/ part-time? [this can really catch you on the hop if you think it will be full-time from day 1 and it isn't]

Do you have before/ after school care or does someone else offer it through the school? [get childcare organised as soon as you know which school you're going to - especially if you're working]

Do you have a range of clubs for children before/ after school? Are they just sport or do they involve other things: cooking/ language/ dance/ music/ etc... [Often YR children don't belong to a lot of clubs, but going forward your child may like the option of lots of activities as they progress through primary school]

How do you handle things if a child is struggling? [there was no policy when my DDs started. Thanks to PITAs like me - there is now! But it helps if newbies to a school ask about this - keeps the pressure for providing a definite safety net for struggling pupils there]

Do classes have assemblies/ plays parents can attend [this is obviously very personal - but I like a class assembly or school play/ concert - and there are schools which don't have this kind of thing].

---

anything else:

active PTA
active Governors
Great results
etc....

is likely to be usual positive spin PR.

My best bet is talk to parents who have children in the school already and that can be achieved by simply talking to people at the local park/ neighbours.

HTH