Unable to visit prospective primary school - should I just rule it out?

[BreakfastGold]

There are two primaries near me, Primary A which is our nearest school and Primary B which is a little further but we have a good chance of getting into depending on application numbers. I have visited Primary A and liked it, but Primary B have said all their visits are full, they have put me on a cancellation list but I've been on it over a month now with no movement so it's unlikely I'll be able to visit.

I'm at a bit at a loss, I was genuinely undecided between the two schools and felt the visit would be the deciding factor as I really wanted to get a feel for it. Would you just go for Primary A given it was a nice school and I think DD would be happy there? Or should I try to do my research about Primary B another way?

Also is it normal for schools to not accommodate all the parents that want to visit? I appreciate they are under a lot of pressure but this is a problem I wasn't anticipating especially as Primary B was undersubscribed last year, it's put me off the school but I'm not sure if I'm being unreasonable?

To be honest, that would put me off the school too. It’s a big red flag for how they treat parents overall

I work in a primary school, places are limited, certainly since covid, our open mornings are restricted to certain times and limited numbers. Can you look on the website or be speak to parents of children who go there?

I would rule out a school on this basis. It says a great deal about how accommodating they are to parents.

I'm a Primary teacher myself, I hasten to add - so don't lack an understanding of factors at play.

I’d be very wary, unless you’ve got a lot of reason to believe the school would be a great fit and the other wouldn’t.

Whilst I get things are tight, they really should be accommodating to potential visits or at least have very extensive information available.

We enquired about visiting 3 and were offered in person visits to all with the headteacher showing us around personally. This was for 3 typically oversubscribed schools and included the one our son was currently in the school nursery of!

We took the earliest slot to view our “top choice” where our son was already settled (we’d put him in the nursery at the height of Covid and hadn’t had the typical nursery induction/visits!) and everything from the visit felt so right we respectfully declined the visits to the other two schools as to not waste their time. Our top choice was the closest and where most friends would be going so we knew it was practically guaranteed entry.

Had any school not wanted to show us around I’d have been dubious. The headteacher was so passionate to be talking about “their” school it was clear they wanted to be there showing it off!

Thank you for the responses which have mostly confirmed what I thought. @Passtheduchyonthelefthandside I am sympathetic to this, I have friends who are primary teachers and I know how under the cosh everyone is. But if you look at the advice on Mumsnet threads and various sources, it's almost unanimous that visiting the school is the most important way to judge if it's right for your child. I just wouldn't feel confident going for a school I hadn't seen in action.

Maybe give them another call? The ones round here have all been happy to do private sessions for people that couldn't make the open days and most are oversubscribed.

The fact they won't accommodate you would put me off more then the fact you haven't seen it. DS started school just after covid when non were doing visits, so I choose based on perspectives, website and reputation, it was fine.

Is there a Christmas fair or other "open to public" event before the applications deadline?

You may need to put school B on your list of preferences anyway, and it would be nice to have been in before your child starts, if that is what you are offered.

The only places in DDs school I've seen are the school hall and the reception area. Had to apply with nothing but the website during Covid when we m

Sorry.. silly phone posted.

We moved during Covid it was an In Year application. DH has never been inside it.

And honestly... the websites were actually the best source of information. We had to choose Secondary from websites/online information as well and we quickly picked up the minor clues on things like how they treated SEN from that.

The constant visits can be very unsettling on the children so I can see why schools limit them (remember this is your children next year!)

If you are happy with School A list it first. But don't completely discount a school as you can't visit it.

Good luck.

Is the primary deadline still 15th January? If so I would give the school the benefit of the doubt- they may well contact you before the end of term because they decided to put on an extra tour. But I agree if they don't accommodate you at all that is not great, and also leaves you without much information to go on.