How to review independant schools?

[Hoolahoophop]

We are about to choose primary schools. I can find loads of places to compare our local primaries, but I have no idea how to compare the independents. At the moment we have one parent wanting to go private and the other preferring not to. Really we need as much information about all of them as possible to make sensible decisions. But where is the information about the Private schools hiding. The only place I can find anything is their own websites, which may possibly be biased!

Thanks

Isis the independent schools inspectorate might have inspected or Ofsted. That’s it. There is no comparison data site and many independent schools don’t do Sats. You could see if they do though. They don’t have to report progress data or compare themselves to other schools.

Private schools stand or fall by the destination of their leavers. Do they get to the best schools or not? If you don’t have a destination school or two in mind, and are just going to the local comp anyway, why pay? If you want a top independent school, does the Private school get pupils into it? How many scholarships do they get for their pupils when they transfer to senior school? What’s the sport, music, drama and art like and do they have subject specialist teachers for the older children? Again, if none of this is great, why pay? These are key attributes of a decent prep and if it’s not better in every possible way, why are you spending your money? Better to pay at secondary, I think, and you do get concrete info about them.

I'd look at the destination school of leavers for the last few years.

Good Schools Guide review independent and state schools, well worth a look

For private schools there is ISI report, Good School guide and Tatler. Look at leavers destinations, and how many received (academic) scholarships to their secondary school. If you go on an open morning you can ask to see workbooks etc to give you an impression of what the (curated top flight of) pupils can achieve. Most private schools will cater well enough for academic able and very able children, although they are frank about expecting parents to very much support homework and study at home, so that will inflate average results. If your dc might need extra SEND support I would always prefer state over indie as provision will almost always be better at state and most crucially free (most privates will charge extra for learning support, assessments etc).

Go and look at them. Ask questions (eg to get the exit schools noted above do they cull pupils? ). What is their ethos/ go and see on a normal day and observe. Go at pick up time and if you can pick up info then. Listen to gossip

Best way to judge them is to visit during the school day, gut reaction counts for at least as much as quantitative data.