Questions to ask on reception visit

[Redinthefacegirl]

I'm off to visit our first primary school tomorrow morning for September 2019 reception entry.

We've got a few good schools we should get into, just need to get our preference order right. I'd love some ideas or thoughts on what to look out for and questions to ask.

How they communicate with parents?

I want to know how they keep an eye on/stretch a quiet (hopefully) competent child?

DH wants to know about homework load.

What else??

Pastoral care - very important these days!

Also, I'd want to know about reward/punishment systems?

After school clubs or wraparound care provision?

Thanks!!

Excellent thoughts re pastoral care and reward/punishment systems. These are important to me and will definitely help me differentiate a bit.

Wraparound care seems well documented on websites and currently not relavent for us (opposite shift pattern) but 7 years is a long time and jobs might change.

Staff turnover? Volunteering opportunities?

How your DC will start school, eg do all children go full time from Day 1, or are they phased in ?
Is there a breakfast club available to Reception children, and can it be booked on an occasional basis or do you have to book for the term?
You could ask to see the lunch time menu, and ask if many Reception children take a packed lunch.
Ask them what they expect a child to be able to do before they start school. This answer will probably be things like dress themselves, go to the toilet by themself etc but it might be useful to hear!

Thanks, really helpful!
Staff turnover and settling would be good to know about.
DS1 is October born and close to school ready I think. Need to work on pen holding and a few bits (note to self not to be over zealous, he has a year to go yet!).

I'm going to be one of those annoying mums with loads of questions and a pfb.

We have parents ask what support we give to 11+ exams!

@spanieleyes I asked that
I then chose a very nice independent school for DS as the answer was none.
That wasn’t the only reason though.
I don’t think it’s an unreasonable question,especially if you live in an area with lots of State Grammar schools.

Except state schools are not, in my area at least, allowed to provide any support for the 11+-and certainly not to 4 year olds!

At 4!

That really wasn't on my radar. And I went to a prestigious grammar school.

How many teachers / TAs are going to be in the reception classroom. There was a huge difference between the schools we looked at, and at 4 realistically there are going to be times when one adult is going to be helping a child get changed who’s had an accident etc. The school we chose had 3 at all times, one inside, one outside and one doing focussed things like reading / painting etc. This meant genuine free flow inside and outside could happen.

I'd definitely want to know the discipline policy - do they use positive behaviour management etc.

We have parents ask what support we give to 11+ exams!

To be fair different primaries have different success rates with the 11+ (even though non specifically prepare as far as I'm aware) and it's a huge issue for most people as the non grammars in my area are seriously horrendous.

You're not just choosing a reception class. In most cases you're choosing a school your child will be at until they're 11.

You're right, I was being a bit flippant, sorry. Our London borough is very left leaning and has no grammars/11+. Our nearest grammar is probably my old school and it's so ridiculously competitive to get in and the standard so far above yr 6 curriculum these days that tutoring is required. It's too early to tell if Ds1 is academic, he seems bright but we'll see. It would be different in a different area.

There was a really informative chat about year 7 prep for secondary school though.

Thanks for all your suggestions!! It really helped, I asked loads of questions but think I stayed the right side of annoying

Whether they have a vicar linked to the school, who takes assemblies, or if the children go to church for Harvest Festival etc.

How they deal with the legal requirement of a daily act of worship, of a broadly Christian nature, at their school.

I'd think about the questions that would actually make you decide the school isn't for you. For me, wrap around care was very important, and I asked about tech equipment in schools (it's what I do for a living). Just because coding is on the curriculum, it doesn't mean all schools are fulfilling that properly. Also quiz them about class sizes, and how classes are blended when they take an unusual number e.g. 70 rather than 60 in a year. One school I visited put 10 of those kids with the year above, and then at Juniors they had two classes of 35 - which is a lot!

I looked around three state schools, and TBH, you'll get a feel for them one way or another straight away. Plus you'll see a lot instantly with your eyes. One school I dismissed due to lack of outdoor space and lack of general resources.

I'm a reception teacher the best question a parent ever asked me was: "What would you change if you were headteacher for the day?"

Safe to say it threw me off and I had to think carefully before answering!