Visiting a prep- what to look for

[justasmalltownmum]

Help please.
First child and first visit to a prep. What should I be asking/ looking for?
TIA

Are there no children present? All visitors are currently banned from schools if children are on site unless an emergency.

I would ask how they handled the lock down and what they will do if we have a second wave re on-line learning etc.

Children have broken up for summer break already.

How they handled lockdown - was worked marked, how was teaching delivered, how much contact was there between teachers and kids.

For which subjects do they have specialist teaching

How do they handle behaviour - house points system? Traffic lights?

What is the turnover of teachers (probably most important as you want happy, valued teachers!)

Go with your gut in terms of your rapport with the head teacher and head of preprep - if you feel that she/he is an arrogant arse, then that will filter down to how the teachers feel too. It's amazing how much you can tell even after a short meeting with the head.

Some people care a lot about particular facilities - I've found so far that having a swish new sports hall or art school was nice but not a patch on having an enthusiastic engaged teacher for that subject. No amount of fancy facilities can make up for the teaching staff feeling underappreciated/taken advantage of.

Thank you some good points.

If it’s a prep and not a through school, then what are the leavers destinations (you should be able to see this in the website). How many get scholarships? Is the school an inclusive school or are children asked to leave if they are struggling? Does the head/school have close ties and relationships to particular secondary schools . How many in a class/year. Do they have an extra class/intake for year 3 (lots of preps do).

And what is the schools SEN provision?

Preps are really definite by the destination of dc. What schools do they go to and when do the dc leave? Are they Eton bound or the local comp? This matters to many parents because they wish their dc to access certain schools. That’s why they pay.

Others will pay for facilities and a family approach.

You are unlikely to be told staff turnover. You won’t see any teaching so it’s difficult to see if dc are engaged in lessons. Facilities do matter. You want proper science rooms, DT, art, music rooms, drama facilities and sport facilities.

You could ask about class sizes. You really don’t want them below 14. Size of school matters and friendship groups can be very tricky in tiny classes. Single sex or co Ed matters too.

Look for evidence of the children’s work. Look at the web site. Check out the head’s newsletter for what’s been happening (go back to earlier in the year). Does it look exciting and innovative? Do you think dc and you would fit in? What’s it like being a parent there? Can you see if they have an active Friends Association? What do they do?

Good luck.

Fantastically helpful article in Angels and Urchins in I think it was February's addition (!) from prep school Head about exactly that - what to look for .....was really helpful for me.