Questions for Reception starters

[Caledoniadreaming]

Hello all,

We're starting the school visits this week, and I'm completely stumped about what questions to ask the schools/teachers/pupils, so any tips gratefully received.

I guess asking about class sizes, PE/Games time, homework amounts (I'm aware this is less likely in Reception) would be good starters?

I'm also completely new to the English school system so it's a massive learning curve for me.

Is this state or private? If state then you need to look at which school(s) you are likely to be accepted into as the choice is somewhat an illusion in many cases.

Class sizes are capped at 30 so generally that is the class size unless a small village situation.

blushes I'm not the best person to reply on what to ask as I just picked the primary that was on my street - close, guaranteed to get in, seemed to have happy kids.

Having now been through it, I'd say the good things about it were:-
Breakfast Club provision
Good SEN provision
Lots of trips around local area (rather than spendy ones), Inc walking distance to large green parks, leisure centre, public library etc.
Head Teacher and many teaching staff had worked there a long time, plus they had lots of NQT staff coming in and progressing well into SLT roles in other primaries
Lots of indoor/outdoor freeflow for Reception and Y1.
Sport focused so joined in Lots of sporting events with other primaries.

It depends on what’s important to you.
I’d be wanting to know how reliant they are on technology (the less used in classrooms the better for me!). I visited schools bragging that there’s even iPads in the reception classroom they use mostly for phonics.
I’d be interested in how SEN kids are supported, either if you think your child may need it or the disruption your child may face if not properly supported. (I might be jumped on for that, but I think it’s a fair concern).
Do they do a forest school?
Is there a Christian bias in assemblies/ religious education?
How is staff retention? A school struggling to retain staff would suggest teachers are very unhappy/ stressed and leaving. Not a great environment for anyone.
How do they handle bad behaviour/ bullying?
Do they teach a foreign language?
Is homework pen and paper or sent on apps?
Do they have real books for children to use? I’ve heard of some skills assigning reading books on an app instead of physical books sent home.
Do they teach cursive from reception?

Different things matter to different people.
Some don’t care as long as it’s the closest one. You need to think about what sort of school environment you want.

If its more than one class entry... how do they organise the classes each year? Is there a set rule or do they think whats best for that year group?

Wraparound provision including availability

Clubs... how are they organised?

I also noted to myself the penmanship of the older students on displays or peaking into classrooms on tour! Seeing poor penmanship and spelling on some displays, seeing kids writing in their book when you’re shown that classroom etc.
There’s no ‘one’ list of questions to ask as everyone has different priorities. What might put me off might attract someone else!
Consider what is important to you at the end of primary school too, not just initially.

Look at your individual child's needs mostly. If they are prone to toilet accidents when distracted then discuss the schools support system for that, check what events the school has on their website and decide if that sounds like too much/too few for you.

Does it suit your personal circumstances? Mine is limited in before/after school provisions but I am surrounded by villages (and in one myself) so need to sort our own childcare around school - would have preferred one with good before and after school options.

If your child has particular interest do they provide clubs in those areas?

A lot of it is based on what you want/need for both the family and your child, and on how limited the choices are, as it will depend a little on your catchment also!

OP I'm guessing from your username that you're from Scotland - if so, I'm in same situation, Scottish and trying to navigate the English school system for the first time. It's a different world in many ways. I've viewed 2 schools so far (booked in to another 3).

Some differences between the schools I've seen so far have been which foreign language they teach and from what age, differing focus on music/the arts generally, provision of breakfast and after school care (this is a big consideration for us), how children are split into reception classes and whether they remain in those classes throughout primary or not, use of teaching assistants, how lunchtime is organised, IT facilities.

Stupidly lost my response, so thanks to everyone - these are super helpful.

I suppose I'm being idealistic, but DS's nursery is very much an outdoors nursery and I'd be keen that the school he goes to (I'm aware some of the choice is taken out of my hands) has a similar level of freedom to an extent, to explore and build on their independence.

The school we like the look of (and I'm aware websites do not provide the full story) has a PAN of 20, so quite a small school. We're waiting on a response around catchment areas as the Borough catchment map suggests schools that aren't even in the same town.

@Flightofthepigeon I agree with you re the SEN provision - at the moment there doesn't seem to be any indication he might need SEN, however DH has ADHD so is particularly interested in seeing how settings work with SEN and the support offered.

We're very much hoping that schools are open about teaching kids what society is like - by this I mean showing them the different cultures, religions etc that make up our society and that there is no one of these which is correct.

We're probably too concerned about that, but our niece and nephew go to a Christian school where no other religion is taught until GCSE year - SIL very open about the fact her children are not aware of any other religion than Christianity (FYI we do not agree with this approach).

It very much depends on private or state:

Private - huge open choice, you're the customer

State - first thing is to check which schools you have a realistic chance of getting in to (look at previous years admission data on the council website).

Thinks to consider:
Size of classes
No of classes per year
Is it Infant school or full primary through to
11 years old
Do you need wraparound, is is available, cost?
Any before/lunch/after school clubs or activities
Read the Ofsted report
Talk to current parents
How active is the PTA
Sports facilities

@albalass spot on re the username; it's such a minefield here. We're very much in need of the wraparound care provision, as we both work in London and the number of childminders I've already spoken to about possible wraparound care, who are ALREADY booked up for next year is bonkers.

DS is already showing an affinity for foreign languages, so that is something we are keen to explore; we're also aware atm he is an only child so want him to have a good social circle with different interests so exploring lots of different groups and activities.

Does your area have a Feeder School system for Secondary? 80% of the pupils at my dc primary go to a specific Secondary, so knowing that the likely Secondary is accessible and not one you hate is a bonus too.

@Caledoniadreaming regarding your comment on religion, the two schools we have viewed so far have been religious - one CofE, the other Catholic (we're neither). Was impressed that the CofE school are doing projects on Hinduism this term, with local leaders from that religion coming in to give special lessons. While I'd probably prefer a non-religious school, the two schools have been much less religious and more diverse than I'd expected.

I'd be interested in their behaviour policy (not sure if that's the correct term but e.g. breaks being taken away as a punishment would be a big red flag for me, or the whole class being punished until somebody confesses). Also what exists in terms of pastoral care.
I'm what's broadly considered a TERF so I'd also be interested in how they're approaching issues of gender identity, though I realise that will be less of a deal breaker for many people.

With a PAN of 20 look at how they organise the classes if its State as it will likely be mixed year groups. How do they decide the make up of each class?

I'm also surprised about the experience with niece of religious schools, I thought it was required to teach all, regardless of the school's religion or not.

@MaggieFS it's a private Christian school, so I suppose they don't have to? Either way it's massive red flags for us and really made us think about how we want to bring up DS

@albalass that is very reassuring, and shows there are links with the local community as well. This is exactly what we'd like to see and experience.

I'm not religious, but with both parents from Glasgow and having worked in NI, I'm painfully aware of the divisions in society religion can cause.

Which borough are you in?

Most of London doesn't have formal catchments, but some areas do - Tower Hamlets does, for example Often "catchment" just means "area in which children normally get admitted" and will therefore change each year. You can apply across boroughs, though you apply for all schools on the same application to your local borough.

And yes a PAN of 20 will almost certainly mean mixed year groups, as schools are funded on the assumption of 30 pupils per teacher.

Realistically most people don't have multiple schools they are likely to get a place in, unless they meet religious criteria.

I'm also from Glasgow and I think when you have that cultural background it does make you view religion in schools/segregation of children by religion through a different lens that others may not understand. But it seems in England (and Scotland) there are very few truly non-denominational schools. I was raised Catholic but went to a 'non-denominational' school - at Christmas/Easter etc we went to the local Church of Scotland church for services, were taught Christianity from a Protestant perspective etc. And in England, our local non-denominational schools follow a CofE 'norm' as far as I can see. So against that backdrop I'm trying to be open minded and view all the schools in my area whether they are officially affiliated to a religion or not. And as I said in previous post have been impressed by what I've seen so far.

Legally, there are no secular state schools in England. Technically, all state schools "must provide a daily act of collective worship for all pupils" that is "broadly Christian." (though is a route to request a change of determination if the school has a clearly defined non-Christian community)

Many, in reality, don't manage this though. And parents have the right to withdraw their children from this, if they so wish. Though many ostensibly non-religious schools will have more religion in their day than others, it varies widely.

Be careful with things like this. If the displays have great work in, that's lovely. But any school could pick the top few children and display their work. A smaller proportion choose to display work from all ability levels. I think I'd rather see this than a school where only the neatest children had their work displayed.

Before starting what I loved about the school DS1 has just started at was how much outside space they have and that there's a forest school element.

Now that he's there (and with friends at other schools) I think I'd want to know more about:

• what the school lunches are
• what the wrap around provisions are and the likelihood of getting a space
• what their attitude to rewards / punishments is
• what their attitude to homework is

Personally one of the things I liked must about the school we chose was that they really encouraged everyone to chose school shoes that children would be able to climb trees in. That seemed like a good attitude to reception aged children!