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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

How did you choose a primary school for your child

30 replies

mumtoone · 17/08/2007 17:08

I've got to choose which primary schools to apply for my son over the next few months and the decision is not straight forward. What information did you base your decisions on? How much emphasis do you put on third hand information and general rumours about a school?
I've done the obvious things such as looking at the OFSTED website and visiting the local schools. Are there other sources on information out there?

OP posts:

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MerlinsBeard · 17/08/2007 17:10

walk past the school at breaktimes and get a feel for how happy the children are

ask for a visit to the school and write down any questions that you will have so you don't forget.

evenhope · 17/08/2007 17:14

We based our decision on gut instinct after visiting the schools (although we did discount one school we really liked because it started and finished too early!). I wouldn't take much notice of rumour unless it is from someone who actually has a child in the school at the time.

christywhisty · 17/08/2007 17:38

I used the school fetes to get a feel for the school.One school I was not happy with as the kids running the stalls got really overexcited and were throwing things around and screaming during the christmas fete.

MerlinsBeard · 17/08/2007 17:40

why is your decision not straight forward?

At the moment i think its still catchment entry so surely you only have 2 maybe 3 to choose from?

Ladymuck · 17/08/2007 18:16

Depending on the schools you may find that looking at some of the networking websites give you some clues. The dcs school has a few Facebook and Myspace groups so you get some info from there, though it would very much come under instinct/rumour type stuff... I assumed that you've googled.

I think that the other thing to look at is the tenure of the head teacher: Head teachers are far more important than I would have ever expected and a change in head can make a substantial difference to the school - one local one-form intake school has changed all of its teachers in a 2-3 year period, which is a rather high turnover!

If your child is not easy-going then I would also take the time to find out how the school addresses this. I think one poster discovered after the event that her son had spent almost a third of a school year outside the head's office.

Hulababy · 17/08/2007 18:20

I visited a few, looked at OFSTED (and independent school equivalent) reports and listened to any comments from people who knew the schools.

We chose our school on which one felt right for our DD following the visit and otur information. Gut instinct during the visit played a really big part, esp regarding the way DD was treated during the visits.

Mercy · 17/08/2007 18:28

mumtoone, yes I don't understand how you have much choice beyond 2 schools either. If anything the school 'chooses' on the basis of catchment area/proximity of home to school, religion, other siblings at the school etc.

Other parents with children already at the school can be very helpful, parent governors, PTA members but most of all a visit.

Ofsted reports not much use imo.

IsabelWatchingItRainInMacondo · 17/08/2007 18:39

Looking at the children TBH. Children at DS school were very articulate, chatty, happy little things while the environment felt a bit more stiff at the other. It didn't help that the OFstead said they had problems with boys disrupting the classes either.

Idreamofdaleks · 17/08/2007 18:45

There are lots of advantages in choosing the closest school!

Original poster

mumtoone · 17/08/2007 20:27

I am currently considering 4 schools of which I believe we should be able to get a place at 3 as they are undersubscribed. The other school may well be oversubscribed (varies from year to year) and we are out of catchment so it may rule itself out.

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Hathor · 17/08/2007 20:33

Wanted local school, so local friends. Visited it. Was nice atmosphere so chose it.

nailpolish · 17/08/2007 20:34

class sizes
uniform
sports
happiness of children and parents in the playground
proximity to home
relating high school

nailpolish · 17/08/2007 20:35

when i say uniform i dotn mean the style - i mean whether children are wearing it or not - can tell you a lot

rapunzelle · 17/08/2007 21:10

I visited schools, asked lots of questions, looked at displays and just got a feel for ethos, breadth of curriculum and happiness quota, all with a view to how well will MY daughter fit in with THIS school. I am a teacher myself, thought it would be very difficult but the choice was obvious

Clary · 17/08/2007 22:30

Momofmonsters you can choose any school. You may not get in of course but most schools in our city are undersubscribed this year.

How to choose - well we liked our local school so that's great. Meet the head, walk past the school at break times to see what the behavious seems like, go to school fairs, visit of course, chat to any parents you know.

I would have to have a very good reason not to choose my local school but that's just me.

Original poster

mumtoone · 20/08/2007 17:31

I agree with most people's view that the local school is probably the best idea however the school nearest us doesn't have the best SATS results and I've heard several rumours of children being withdrawn from the school because of bullying. Its really the rumours of bullying that I'm not comfortable with. There are better schools further away but we'd be making our lives a lot more complicated by sending him there.

OP posts:

mamazon · 20/08/2007 17:33

what ages are the children being removed for bullying? it may be that there was a couple of rather horrid children who bullied a lot that were in the final year of school....they could have moved on to high school by now.

also don't believe everything you "hear" the children could have been moved for all sorts of reasons, you don't know it actually was bullying

Smithagain · 21/08/2007 18:12

Wanted to use the local school. Read all the OFSTED reports. Discovered that the local school was "adequate" whereas all the ones a bit further away were "outstanding".

Had a major wobble at that point, frankly!

Then went to visit them all. Decided that I could just "see" DD1 at the local school, she would be with her friends and we would enjoy walking to school. Couldn't face driving her or fitting into a new community.

We went for the "adequate" school, which has so far been outstanding as far as we are concerned. No worries at all and a lovely mix of kids from the whole local community.

The moral - don't read too many OFSTED reports, go and visit and go with your instincts.

ChasingSquirrels · 21/08/2007 18:36

I just went with the village school, didn't visit.

MaureenMLove · 21/08/2007 18:45

Conveniently for me, my mum was a head teacher in the borough where we live at the time of choosing. We made sure we were living in the catchment area for the school she told us was the best and that was it.

Miaou · 21/08/2007 18:55

We had a choice of three local schools where we are and we went with gut feeling, tbh! All three have a good reputation in terms of achievement etc but we liked what we read of the one we chose (they had a fab website too which was definitely an influence). Went to look round and didn't feel any need to look at the others. Experience is bearing us out - dds are very happy there and the educational standards are high.

Clary · 21/08/2007 23:58

mumtoone - go and ask the head about the bullying and if it's true, what they have done.
They are obliged to have a bullying policy.

SATs would not be a big factor for me tbh as they can be influenced by so many things.

Do you like the feel of the school and how the children behave? Is it where most of yr DSs pre-school friends go? - and for that matter the kids in yr street (a biggie IMO)?

elastamum · 22/08/2007 00:02

Read the ofsteads, ask other parents and have a look around. After all that in our area you dont really have a choice as all are oversubscribed so you get what you are given and thats that. the idea of choice round here is a bit of a joke

TheodoresMummy · 22/08/2007 15:08

It's tricky tho, even with ofsted reports.

One primary school here has outstanding in every category. However, I know of a couple of people who have withdrawn their children with mild SN because the school would not offer support. A friend of mine (who rates the school) who has a daughter there says it's very pushy. And I have witnessed lots of bitchy behaviour (walking past the playground many times and at a girl's birthday party).

Do as many of the things suggested on this thread as you can.

Sorry, that was a bit of a rant.

UnquietDad · 22/08/2007 15:21

In most cases "choice" is an illusion anyway. You're likely only to have a couple within travelling distance, unless you plan driving a long way in the mornings. You're bound to like one better than the other, and it will, most lilely, be the one which is over-subscribed. The school exercises the choice, not the parent. Although that's not what they tell you. Some LAs have stopped keeping waiting lists s Key Stage One as it "creates an expectation".

There may be another which is very desirable, but for which you need to believe in a particular flavour of imaginary friend to get in.

And there may be another for which you have to pay.

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