Independent school books/magazines

[cantlivewithoutcoffee]

We are considering sending our DD to an independent prep school and wanted any recommendations on books or magazines that others have read when researching individual schools. We are starting to book school visits and want to read about what others look for when they visit schools and questions that are commonly asked.

Naturally, we are looking for a school that is the right fit for her rather than purely academic but have multiple children and would ideally like them to be in the same school.

Good schools guide? Tatler schools guide? Attain magazine? Ask on MN for opinions about schools you are interested in?
IMO, re things to ask or consider:
Is their intake is selective- consider that when looking at exam results and uni or senior school destinations? Think about what you loved and loathed about your own school days or how your own school succeeded or failed and ask questions as to where the school you are viewing stands in the light of these? What discount will they give you on multiple DC?! I'm no expert - having gone to an expensive, big name, dump of a school myself, I just managed to ask about bullying when i went around schools for my DC, and apart from that I just spent too much time smiling and nodding, as if i had asked a stranger for driving directions! !
Seriously, just ask.whatever you want to ask or feel like asking- i don't think there is a "right" set of things to ask? Unless it is why you should send your DC there rather than to state primary?

Thanks for the reply, I was only privately educated for 6th form and DH not at all so its all a bit new to both of us. I've thought about all the things you mentioned so that's definitely making me feel better that I'm not walking into it completely blind. For me, it isn't so much 'right' questions but just making sure I take full advantage of the visit as the schools I've enquired at include a meeting with head or deputy when visiting so I want to be sure that I've covered all bases before applying. I'm not concerned about their perception of us from the visit - we are not pushy parents and feel that if they judge against us from the initial meeting, it probably isn't the right place for our children.

We are looking at both selective and non-selective prep schools, not considering all through to 18 schools for 2 reasons - most importantly, the overwhelming majority in our area are single sex and I want all DC in same school for primary. Secondly, we haven't confirmed we want to privately educate for secondary yet. For selective schools in particular, we will certainly be looking at what sibling policies are and sibling discounts on fees. Like you mentioned, I will be looking at approaches to bullying from own school experience but the few I've already expressed interest with (although not visited yet) have their policies on websites.

The state vs prep school debate has been a big one in our house since she was born so we are pretty confident on our reasons for picking private

Independent school parent magazine is pretty helpful

Thanks, will check that out too

Look at the ISC reports too. Good schools guide can be useful too. In addition to quality of teaching, ethos is the most important characteristic I assess. Also, personally a school that treats each child as an individual and is inclusive is likely to be a good fit for many children as they change and grow.

Personally on tour I’d be looking to understand how they implement their ethos- for instance if they say they build resilience get them to explain how.

Also I’d pay attention to the SENCO provision. You never know what kind of support your children may need and a school that takes a progressive and inclusive approach to SENCO is likely in my view to really nurture children’s individual needs more broadly.

The ISC reports are generally glowing and tend to be a description of the school. They are far removed from ofsted! They are not worth much in my view. I have read glowing reports of schools in the past where the inspectors have found no robust method of assessment and reporting of progress. For a state school this would be RI not a glowing report!

Destinations of pupils is key. Are you looking for Eton or the little local non selective independent? Preps sell themselves differently. Some have most pupils going on to boarding at 13 and others have all DC leaving at 11 to stay local. Some have a scholarship scheme and some would not have any DC with scholarships. Some have fairly basic facilities and all parents want are small class sizes and not much else, other than bragging rights over state school parents. Some schools take lots of DC who are struggling in state schools. So do look at the usp of the school because it matters.

Cynically, don't go a bundle on bullying questions/answers. What school is going to say "Oh, we ignore bullying and leave them to get on with it.
' ?

I don't agree (obviously) regarding ISC reports. I've seen ISC reports for schools that we've been considering that highlighted issues with safe guarding as well as highlighting that the most able weren't being adequately challenged (two different schools).

More precisely, I've found that they tend to highlight what the school does particularly well-- i.e. if they have a dedicated gifted program and how its run as well as the nature of SENCO support. Also, one of our local indie preps was assessed as not providing enough time in the curriculum for science and needing to improve subject coordinators monitoring of pupil progress.

Lastly, they also do parent and staff surveys which I think is useful. In one I've read recently they highlighted the disagreements staff had with management for instance.

I haven't come across any schools described as terrible or failing but given parents pay for indies, a school doing very badly would simply close down unlike in the state sector.

There are a number of schools whose reports were very glowing but I think its deserved in those instances!

Thanks so much, that's really useful. Really good point on SENCO as it was something on my radar but not something I've paid enough attention to so far. I completely agree an inclusive approach to SENCO is much more likely to nurture a child's needs better.

I have been looking at ISC reports but they are overwhelmingly positive for the schools we've looked at so far. The ones we have been considering are pretty popular in our area and largely oversubscribed though.

Destination of pupils is a big one we've already been looking at as we are not aiming for Eton or top private secondary, more local independent (not ruled out selective if they have sibling policies), good facilities, small class sizes.

Thanks again, all really helpful information

The top 3 indie schools in our area also have glowing ISC reports.

They are all-through schools and our preferred school is extremely difficult to get into (one place per ten applicants) at reception. I've been looking into the local preps and pre-preps which is where I've seen more of the critical statements. A couple of the pre-peps have glowing reports too but it was more of a mixed bag among the 5 or so I researched.

I'm hoping the glowing reviews are indicative of true quality since its not automatic!

I would look at the Good Schools Guide and the Tatler Schools Guide as a starter and then individually look at any that float your boat and read their inspection reports on their websites. Which area are you looking in? Good luck!