School visits

[sanityisamyth]

I'm doing some visits to primary schools for my 5 year old DS. He is very able at maths, reading and writing. I am a secondary school science teacher but I don't know much about how primary schools work! It will be a primary school near Cardiff too, which is in a different education system as well!

What questions would you ask as you're on a visit? I've got some questions in mind but I've probably missed out lots of sensible things to find out. I'm only visiting schools which I have been told have spaces so I shouldn't need to worry about that.

Thanks!

Does he not already attend a school if he is 5? Are you wanting to change schools?

He's in Reception at the moment but I'm relocating to do a degree at Cardiff so he will need to change schools. It's a long commute to Somerset and back otherwise!

No one?

How many students are there in each class (approximately)?
How much time do they have on breaks?
What activities are there to do on breaks?
What options are there for lunch? Hot meals? Packed lunch? Cost?
What extra-curricular activities are there?
What provisions are there before and after school for childcare?
How do you support more able students?
How many trips are run for each year group? What are they generally like?

Is there anything I've missed?
Would you not ask any of the above?

Somewhat crucially ..."does your school have a place for my child?". If you don't, how long is the waiting list?

The things on your list are "nice to knows" but as you're after an in-year transfer, you are mostly looking for a school with an available place, which means IMO that you should be looking for things that would stop your child attending that school.

Personally I'd be asking more about academics - how do they deal both with more able children (e.g. extension work) and those who need additional support? Are the children put in rigid ability based groups. Do they teach within the class, or within a year group. How many TAs do they have?

Are you just looking for English medium?

I put in the OP that I'm only visiting schools that have got places. I have already e-mailed the council to find out which ones are full.

Your last paragraph is more useful. Thank you.

Does anyone else have any other questions worth asking?

Number of TAs per class definitely. What support there will be to settle in mid-year. If you need to do anything to prepare DS for the change in education system. How much Welsh is used in school. How bullying is dealt with.

Best question I've ever been asked was 'what is the best thing about this school?'

Thanks SadOtter those are really useful questions. I'd forgotten about TAs! I'm hoping he can do a transition week at the end of the summer term to help him settle in - I will add that to the list :)
The bullying issue is a good question too.

I love that last point - I will use that!!

Thank you :)

I would want to know if there is a good PTA, if they raise many funds / do many social activities, are there class or year Facebook groups and are there many non Welsh families.

Also as above what scope is there for bright kids / support for kids struggling in an area.

Mostly though I would go by observations rather than answers to questions.
Good luck, and enjoy beautiful Cardiff!

I would take your DS with yiu and see how they relate to him. When I was visiting schools for YR intake, one of them totally ignored DS and only spoke to me. That really put me off.

More good ideas :) DS will be coming with me to give me his thoughts and ideas, but I'll pay more attention to how they interact with him.

Thank you :)

When you visit, look at whether the classes are settled with engaged children. Are they all working away at tasks or are lots of them still playing? Infant class size won’t be over 30, but how is the class organised? Is there evidence of writing, reading, and the maths curriculum in the classroom. Ask the teacher what the brightest children are able to do. Can she/he show you books and work?

Do they have a library? Do they do art, music and sport? Is the school well resourced? Are there clubs to join?

Playtime should be playtime. Lunch will be what it is. Ditto uniform. Look around the school for purposeful children and look at displays of work. See if children engage with you.

Check Ofsted’s view on how well the schools cater for their brightest children. If there has been cause for concern, ask how the school has improved the education of their brightest children.

Look at the schools web sites and check out the Head’s Newsletters. They tell you what’s going on. Look for the curriculum page. Some schools post their themes for the term for each year group. Is it stimulating?

Also just think “will my child fit in here”? You can never rule out children being unpleasant and all you can do is check the school’s policies. Schools will never tell you they don’t work or they don’t adhere to them! You have to take some things on trust.

I would worry about use of Welsh. I would want to know how much this is used.

Ofsted is an England only agency. Estyn is the school inspection body in Wales.

Learning Welsh is a great opportunity as Wales is a bilingual country and learning another language gives skills for acquiring additional languages later on.

Your child would learn Welsh. I don't know how much in a primary school but they will have lessons. Some elements of school life .. good morning etc some numbers and register will be answered in Welsh.

I perhaps made my point badly.
You've been told which schools have places now. If you don't want a place until September, no school will hold a place open for you for a term. So you need to understand how many spaces they have available (if they have a few, there is less chance of all the places being taken) and/or what the likelihood is that a place available now will be still available when you want it. If I've misunderstood and your DC will be starting straight away, my apologies.

As well as the points already made, I would ask about SEN provision (even if your child doesn't have SEN, he may need additional help in the future and it gives an idea of the school's ethos - some schools like children that fit a particular mould and are not so good with ones that don't).

I'd also think about all the things you really like and really don't like about his current school and ask associated questions.

redhas a good point
Until you have moved you can’t apply for a School place I don’t think so just because a school has a space now it might not have one by the time you’ve moved.

Yeah it's a massive catch 22. I'll be renting whilst I'm at uni but I can't decide which area until I know which schools I like, and I can't apply for a school until I've got a house and post code.

The council TBF are being helpful. They're telling me which ones are currently full, which currently have 1/2/3 spaces (so could potentially be full) and which have quite a few spaces (so more likely to be able to take him in September).

Thank you so much for the questions to ask - they're all really useful. Will compile a succinct list! X

I'm actually looking forward to the Welsh aspect. I'm useless at languages and wish I had exposure earlier to different cultures, experiences, languages etc 👏👏👏

Welsh exam results are the lowest in the UK. There isn’t much evidence that learning Welsh helps much. Certainly not on a world stage. Do the Welsh have a high percentage of DC doing MFL at university?

amp.theguardian.com/education/2019/jan/21/gcse-pupils-in-england-outperform-those-in-wales

This article provides a few different viewpoints on differences between Wales and England in relation to schools.

I'm not sure how that's useful? I am going to a University in Wales do I need a school nearby for my son. There's nothing to suggest that he'll stay in the Welsh system after I've graduated, and I'd like to think that I'm bright and motivated enough to support him through the next 4 years.

Information on the new curriculum being developed for Welsh schools:

gov.wales/new-curriculum

Well it depends if you think having to learn Welsh will hinder learning in other areas. However you have made your decision and that’s that! Bristol would have been easier!

Oh op if only you had gone to Bristol uni eh?

Not sure why learning Welsh would be a hindrance. The benefits of learning a language are far reaching and well recorded.

MyOtherProfile Bristol doesn't do pharmacy. The only one in the SW that does is Bath and it's too expensive to live there.