Play dates in admission process

[Jaylden]

Hey:

there are some schools that have play dates as part of their admission process.

For instance, Arnold House - what can we expect please? Is there anything to prepare?

Thanks

I'm not sure I understand the question. Do you mean do schools run stay and play sessions as part of the induction/settling on process?

Most schools will offer sessions for your child to come and visit and familiarise themselves with the setting and staff once places have been allocated. It's not part of the admissions process though, as in attending stay and play sessions will not get you brownie points in terms of being offered a place in the first place. Before applying, many schools will run tours you can book onto look around and ask questions but, again, these play no part in the actual application process. You do not get priority for having visited beforehand. These tours are for information purposes only, to help you make your decision as to which schools to apply to and in what order of preference.

Sorry if I misunderstood your question. I have no idea about the particular school you mention and it's very unlikely anyone else reading this will. If you have questions about a specific school I would advise you start a new thread with the school named on the title, to grab the attention of anyone who happens to be familiar with it.

Edit - I've just realised you're probably on about private education, aren't you? The admissions process is different for private. Again, I advise you start a new thread stating your interest in knowing the private school application process, and mentioning which schools you are looking at. Many on here are very knowledgeable about the system, but many who read this won't be so it's probably best to clarify what advice you're looking for from the off to avoid confusion.

Many private schools assess prior to acceptance. I would imagine stay and play sessions at age 4 would be used to assess socialisation, speech etc, and to help rule out any children with poor behaviour or S&L needs etc.

They are usually used to identify children who might need extra support and to start to build relationships with parents, rather than to rule out children with potential or actual SEN.

Look at the 4+ information on this forum. Arnold house is 3+ but a lot of the information here will be helpful. Schools that say play date are downplaying what they’re testing for.