How do I decide which school to send my DC to?

[Kpo58]

I live in an area with several primary schools, but I don't know anyone locally with children of the same age and the ofsted on them is so out of date, that it's pointless to look at them.

What do I need to look for when deciding on which school to choose?

Go and visit them all and see what you think. It’s not just about Ofsted reports but academic results and being the right place for your child.

There are some things which might be a necessity such as before/after school clubs but generally people try to arrange meet ups in the summer holidays before school starts so the children (and parents) can get to know one another. The school will probably tell you more but usually a Facebook or WhatsApp group is set up for this.

Visit them to get a feel for the atmodphere. What are the displays like, how does the head talk about the school

Then imaging making the journey there every single day. (Unless you have a nanny or child minder that does drop offs)

First find out which ones you stand a good chance of getting into
You don’t usually choose a State Primary you State a preference
If there is more than one where you may get a place visit them all and check the Ofsted report to see if it will suit your child. For example there may be comments on how well they do with high achievers, or dc with special needs or EAL in case you have any of those but don’t get to hung up on the report, I had a teacher friend “decode” the ones of the 2 schools we were looking at for DD and she felt that one wasn’t a good option for her, although it was a well regarded school in general
You could ask on a local FB group as well but again remember that if one or 2 parents have had a bad experience they will (understandably) slate the school so try and get as many views as possible.
Does your child go to any childcare at all? Toddler groups? They are a good source of information too

My DC currently do go to a nursery, but unfortunately that's near where I work rather than where I live. Also the local toddler groups are currently only on days where I work, which is unfortunate.

There are 3 schools near me. The nearest is a Catholic school, so less chance of getting in and the other 2 schools are equal distance from where I live.

Are you catholic as chances are very slim if not..: the schools that are equal distance which is your catchment area school?

If you go onto the local council site this will tell you. You need to look at whether over subscribed this year etc.. if you aren’t in the catchment area how many have they take from outside of it.. all things to consider

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/find-a-school-in-england

That’s where you find out about academic performance and some other stats.

Other than that, look at the size of school, facilities, extra-curricular activities, before and after school clubs if required and just get a general feel to see if one stands out.

You are not going to get everything you want so you need to prioritise.

For me personally, I wanted a school with a decent playground and field. And sports that were on offer.

School was 5mins walk away so good proximities.

And I loved the infants teacher, that sealed it.

I wasn't that fussed on the school layout, so long as the classrooms were big enough.

Technology is a big one, especially these days. Admittedly DD was at primary pre iPad days but the technology on offer was crappy, absolute shit cheap PCs, couldn't run half educational programmes online.