Primary School Open Day - what to expect and what should I be looking for?

[TheBlonde]

I'm just starting to investigate local private schools.
Feeling a bit clueless, DS is only 18mths so I can't ask his views
What I am supposed to be looking for?

All hints and tips appreciated

I think some stuff has been posted on here allready about this, (will be looking for it myself soon)however for private schools I would also want to know what EXTRA am I getting for my money eg small class sizes, better educational opportunities, broader range of subjects and also what they do if they feel my LO isn't "up to scratch" IYSWIM ie can they just ask me to remove him? (how many have they removed in the last year and why etc) also stuff their staff turnover.

What size is the class, do they have class room assistants, what extra activities/clubs do they do - various sports, swimming, chess, dance - where does the primary school feed on to, and what percentage of children go on to the secondary school of their choice (at 7, 11 or 13 depending on school), does the school have a local feel or are the children far flung over the area, do they have learning support for dyslexia, bad handwriting etc, what are the lunches like, and how do they check that the children choose healthy food.

Most important - get them to describe their pastoral care. Are they cuddly with the little ones? What about manners and being nice to each other.

Is the school unusually 'exclusive'. This can be a tricky one. I have been round enough schools that are a complete monoculture. That is not the school for my kids.

And finally!! If they care enough to keep the loos clean and sparkling, then they are on the ball!!

Anything else guys?

Oooh holidaysoon! Staff turnover is another good one.

Classrooms orderly, child-friendly, displaying work (of all standards), interested staff, small class sizes, good resources and specialist facilities and staff. Extended day care/after school clubs if you might be working.

Definitely agree with batters and the other pointers here. Look at all your local schools, even ones you have heard dubious reports of. What is right for one family and child can be very wrong for another.
Our dcs are at a small independent primary and what swayed it for us was the conduct of the Year Six children when acting as guides for the Open Day on a Saturday. Funny, natural, well-mannered and clearly keen to do a good job.
This quiet happiness around school was replicated when we came for a more structured afternoon.
Contentious one this but while we were prepared to abandon our previously-held views on paying for independent schooling, we really didn't want an academically selective school at 4 plus.
"Private" covers a wide range of approaches and education philosophies. We chose our school also for its strongly play-based early years approach and its policy on not making seven year olds do SATs.
We wanted to know plenty about our school's academic inclusiveness including its policies on bullying and on SEN.
We wanted a school that was independently validated by the Independent Schools' Inspectorate (because this indicates it is a member of a respectable regulatory body), we wanted to see the most recent ISI report, and we didn't want a school that was "owner-managed" (although some of these are fine of course).
Ask yourself why independent, TheBlonde, and be honest with yourself about your motives. That will have a big impact on the type of school you ought to be looking at.

Bribed, maybe, but they earned every penny of it I have to say

Academic selection at age 4 makes my palms grow fur! The madness.

Thanks for all the tips
I have read the Ofsted reports on the local state schools already

Hi everyone, sorry this is a bit late Marina do you mind me asking whether there is something about "owner run" schools that you know and I don't? Several of the big ones near here are like that. I've always felt a bit dubious about them but if I exclude them then I will be really restricting my choice. (I am actually hoping to use State but there are a lot of variables!)
Agree guides and loos important. Educational philosophy, number of subjects, foreign languages? Also I think some OFSTED reports really take some interpreting if you are using them check whether the head is still the same I think with all the funding changes they can have a lot more influence on the schools direction now.

When we went to look at the local independent/private schools DD was only a year old. So state schools weren't considered at all then - we did that wehn she was older. I had this long list of things that I knew I was supposed to ask and look out for.

But you know what? In the end none of it mattered. I went for the school that just felt right for us.

We visited again the year before DD was due to start, along with state schools. And the feeling was still there.

DD did have an assessment day in the November before she was due to stary. Not academic as such. They just were checking the child was ready for school.

DD started last week, and it still feels right, Infact at the moment it feels like the best decision we have ever made regarding her education/care.

holidaysoon, no, of course there is nothing inherently wrong with an "owned" school - I am sure some of them are great . It's just I do feel that there is less likely to be objective management of any issue a parent or child might have with a school, if the person who is the head is also the proprietor.
I feel happier knowing that the head of the school, responsible for curriculum delivery, answers to a board of independent trustees, and is not even remotely tempted to make academic judgements based on financial pressures.
We have one apparently excellent owned independent school near us and one where I would not dream of sending any child of mine...

We looked at how the kids behaved towards each other. We tried quite hard to pick up this "atmosphere". At one school we picked up lots of low level unpleasantness (Chigwell), no violence or anything like that, just a feeling, but we both got it independantly.

Also you should disregard shows of work big time, they are sometimes chosen quite carefully, and in one case I know are from an old boy who gained a PhD in maths and donated a sculptrue you can only understand if you have more than average grasp of the subject.

I see Marina's point, but sadly all schools make decisions based upon financial constraints, and the key variable is the quality of these choices, not the ownership.

Searched and found this old thread.
Ds is 3.8 and applications have to be in Oct 18th.
Answers alot of my questions so thanks.
Our choice of school has 2 open days next week, that I can not make.
Have made appointment to meet Head, with three other parents.
Hope I ask the right questions.
Anyone else doing this at the moment ?