What are the Killer Questions to ask at Open Evenings to break through the guff?

[VulpusinaWilfsuit]

For example, if I asked 'what was the last example of bullying you had to deal with, and how?' would the Head be likely to give details or just fob me off?

And how to ask questions that unpick the publicly available scores and tables etc?

Because I know they will have a spiel. And I'd like to know what really goes on but have no idea how to find out. Thanks.

[GrapefruitMoon]

Ask them what percentage of pupils actually sit the GCSE - I only recently discovered that schools don't put all pupils forward, I assume it is a way of massaging the league table figures. They apparently have ways of effectively getting rid of less able/troublesome pupils whilst still keeping them on the school records but the pupils don't receive a proper education as a result.

[msmum007]

Good questions to ask(being an ex-teacher)could be;
What is their exclusion policy? How many students have they excluded in the last year and why?
Also how many times do they send reports home to parents in an academic year?
How does the school reward good behaviour/progress?
How strict is their uniform policy?
Do they have many after school clubs?
Owwww...I could go on
Also watch the teachers carefully - do they seem to 'care' for their job? ie are they organised? passionate about their subject?

[mnistooaddictive]

If you asked me about the last incident of bullying I dealt with, I wouldn't answer due to pupil confidentiality. So be careful what you ask as you may be fobbed off for other reasons than you think!

[bruffin]

This thread iss 6 months old and they would have all got their schools by now. The next lot of open evenings are not due to September.

Why do people have to keep dragging up old threads?

[mnistooaddictive]

why does it matter to you bruffin?
When people post questions about choosing schools they are often told to search old threads rather than 'waste'peoples time asking the same boring questions.

[bruffin]

But when it's the relevant time there will be lots of new threads. What is the point of raising a thread that is completely irrelevant at the moment!
People will waste time giving advice to people who really are long gone.
Once saw a thread of someone who had a miscarriage a year before and other started sending their commiserations etc not realising, and other times rows that have been dead and buried. Its just a bug bear of mine

[lemonsherbet123]

As a Deputy Head in a Yorkshire Independent School I would say never be afraid to ask tough, difficult questions of teachers and management at schools you are considering.

Whether you are going to be paying directly by going to an independent school, or indirectly through your taxes at a state school, you have the right to know what sort of school your child will be attending. However, be prepared for a response asking you to come in for a one-to-one discussion if you really pull out the 'big guns' in a very public forum.

Any school that evades your questions should be crossed off the list. Education is a partnership between home and school. Deceit, dishonesty and lack of trust do not build a strong partnership.

I would also ask for the name of the head of the PTA (or equivalent) and find out what current parents think.

However, the pupils will usually give you an unvarnished, unprepared answer to any question you ask of them.

[cansu]

I agree with kembletwins - the open evening isn't really the right moment to ask the kind of questions you are considering here. Get a feel for the school at the open evening, talk to the children and the teachers about how subjects are taught etc and then make an appointment to ask your detailed questions.

[Maximiseurkids]

Talking about Open Evenings, if anyone has a child doing 11+ entrance exams for grammar and independent schools,


I found this useful website

www.11plusmocktests.com.

Check it out.

[mnistooaddictive]

The thread that never disappears!

[indiewitch]

How many teenage pregnancies were there last year?

[DancingHippoOnAcid]

Find a pupil to take you round!

We borrowed next door neighbour (also good friend of DD) to take us round personally at open evening recently. She loved showing us her school and we were very impressed.

Not always possibel, i know, but if you do have friends with DCs at the school, worth thinking about.