Choosing a school when not able to physically tour anywhere

[Toomuchtooyoung01]

DD 3yrs is due to start primary school next September.Because of the current coronavirus situation no local schools are holding open days or allowing parents to have a tour and instead are making short virtual tours for their websites.
How am I supposed to choose a school for DD based on a short video clip?
Locally there is a small single form entry primary, and 2 larger double form entry schools still locally but not within walking distance as with the first.
All my friends' children are younger than my DD so I have nobody to ask for recommendations etc.
What would you say is better - smaller but potentially less snazzy facilities (and concerned it may be either friendly village school or gossipy yokel village school), or bigger and more modern? Thanks!

Totally depends on your child. My DS is starting next sept too, as he’s quite shy and timid so probably would do better in a smaller school. However, my issue is his younger brother is totally the opposite and so loud and outgoing and social he would probably prefer the other school 🙄!

I don’t think the newness of the facilities are everything, intact around here it seems that the struggling schools are Knocked down and rebuilt first!

We are in the same situation, we go to our local park a lot and around kick out time lots of kids from all local schools come and I’ve been asking their parents their thoughts a bit!

So the bigger ones are only two-form entry? That’s still small.

Have you looked at the websites to at least get an idea of clubs, wraparound care etc?

You might also find some stats useful.

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

Are you sure they aren’t doing show arounds? I’ve contacted all 4 of the local schools (email & phone) & I’m seeing them all after 3.30pm & wearing a mask. A teacher friend of mine has given me a list of things to look for, consider & ask even without seeing the kids & usual open days..

It’s strange you can’t look round, I can’t see the major risk once the kids have gone home, masks & distancing. It’s a huge decision to make, schools should be as accommodating as they can be?

One local one here hasn’t decided yet; the other one is doing one tour for 4 families ( which is fully booked) and the other said a virtual tour and maybe a zoom with the head!

What things did they say is important to look for?

You will likely be allocated your closest school anyway unless there's an abundance of places so start with that one. Check whether it's a good school or not (you'll have to make do with ofsted/sats/word of mouth this year) and if all seems ok pop that one down

You will likely be allocated your closest school anyway

It works like that in some areas but others will have different admission policies.

You need to think about what's important to you as a family, both for you as a family with a 5 year old And for the next six years. So things like childcare - do they offer before and after school facilities or are they well served by childminders.

What's their homework policy, not just now but further up the school too

What's their ethos around valuing every child vs getting great results

What are their views on using It in the classroom and what facilities do they have to support this

What is the outside space like for the older years - it's often good for Yr r and 1 but can be lacking later on

Remember that no matter how much you like a school, there is no guarantee that your child will feel the same.
We were a bit blasé about it and didn't visit any schools before DS started - couldn't take all those days off work for the tours! We went with the school that was closest and which, most important for us, had the best wraparound care facilities. I think choosing a school will always be a leap into the unknown to some extent, so I'd go with your gut feeling.

I'd say at primary level, you are best to go local unless the local school is truly awful or another school not too far away offers something special. Being able to walk to school, to have friends nearby and be part of the local community offers immeasurable benefits.

So, is the only thing that's different between your local school and the one slightly further away is it's 1 form vs 2 form entry, I'd just go with that.

If you really don't know anyone with children at the school (no older siblings at pre-school? Or at clubs? Or neighbours with school age children?) it's also worth putting a message on a local facebook group, although you should be aware that people who reply to these message are often the ones with very strong opinions either way!

I would take snazzy facilities with a big pinch of salt. When we looked at junior schools we were proudly shown the dedicated science lab and art room. Turned out the science lab was only used (and then not very often) in Year 6, and the year after my DC started the art room was turned into an extra classroom.

i know its hard but try not to think completely about the needs of the 3 year old as what may suit them now may be suffocating and restrictive to a 10 or 11 year old.

We went for the small local and I wish we'd gone for a bigger one to be honest, the school was fine but lacked in facilities and opportunities that the bigger schools seem to get eg. Music festivals, sports tournaments etc. My boys outgrew it pretty quickly and was very happy to go to secondary school! Obviously just my experience

Yoko I agree re bigger schools having more resources/facilities - however OP is choosing between 2 small schools!

Redsky - you can only choose what you have though. The large commuter town where we live hasn't got a single school with more than 2 forms per year, and half are 1 form. 1 form entry limits sports opportunities (maybe not enough for a football team for example) so the school doesn't even enter local inter school competitions). I personally find a one form entry school too small and stiffling.

Sure - was just making the point that as OP is choosing between 2 small schools, the benefits of large schools are not really applicable to her.

Agree that you should check whether after hours tours are available. Otherwise, see if you can have a chat on the phone with the head to get a feeling for the ethos of the school.

Where I live, 2 form entry schools have plenty going on and are not considered small. A small village school might have a 15 pan not 60.

I would go for bigger. 2 form entry is big enough to have teachers with different specialisms and interests but small enough for the head to know everyone and TA staff too. Don’t just look at yr. What is on offer higher up the school? Your DC can find that there’s little meaningful sport, music or drama in smaller schools and village schools can definitely be cliquey.

You can get further information from the government’s web site and Ofsted. You must look at progress scores and whether dc starting are already above expected attainment levels. Does this seem like your DC?

You can even wander around when DC are coming out of school. What vibes do you get? Other sources of info are the school’s web sites. Look for details of the curriculum, evidence of excellent teaching (most vital!), clubs, very regular newsletters from the Head, details about what each year group is studying, parents information via the prospectus and Friends of the school and policies which apply in the school. Look for a vibrant community with plenty going on for DC, eg music, sport etc. Think if you will thrive in this school community as well as your DC. What communication do they have with parents and do you get the impression it’s a partnership between the school and parents? You need to check the admissions policies and whether you have a chance of getting into both schools or not. Are you in catching for both? Do both schools take all applicants every year. What distance do they go to with admissions? Are you within it for both? Are there any other admission criteria? Church etc? The LA will have all the school admission data on these schools.

Lastly - get DC into a local nursery if you can. Other parents there will be a source of info. Difficult at the moment but this might improve. Good luck with the research.

One thing I've found is you can tell a lot about a school and the way they view and communicate with parents by going on their website and looking for the newsletters or letters home section if they have one.

If they're a school that just lectures down to the parents like they're blethering idiots versus if it's friendly and seems to view them as in partnership with the school.

redsky Comparing the local 2 form entry to our 1 form entry is quite a different hence the small/big. For us and possibly OP, the 2 form would be considered big in comparison

OP needs to compare the schools she actually has. My DC went to a 4 form entry school so both 1 and 2 form entry seem small to me!

Few village schools are 4 form entry. Very large villages serving smaller satellite villages might be 2/3 form entry. City schools are often bigger due to population intensity and lack of space to expand outwards. Some villages only have infant schools too, so you have to change for KS2. The infant school might be linked to a junior school so that needs to be OK too - but of course things can change......

@Toomuchtooyoung01 we are in a similar position all our local primary schools are not doing visits (have emailed to check). We have no first hand experience of the schools as not originally from this area and have limited friends with children at the schools. I have had one group zoom meeting with the head from one school which consisted of a very dry power point - not giving anymore info that was on the website. I couldn't ask questions as my microphone failed and as it was a group call with lots of other parents everyone was trying to talk at once! Not great first impressions which was a shame as it was the one we have most chance of getting a place. The other schools are just posting video tours to their website in due course. However our local private school (which we cannot afford) was able to hold an open day for prospective parents a few weeks ago! Feeling deflated by the whole process.