Questions to ask when looking around schools??

[MrsT&Ben]

We looked around the first of 3 schools on Friday and I couldn't think of anything I wanted to ask. I'm sure I need to know something but I just don't know. I'm not bothered about ofsteds as to me they are just a load of political rubbish. (I work in a college so have first hand experience of how they work!). I go much more on the feel and attitude of staff. When we were looking for a nursery we visited a grade 1 nursery and the staff seemed disinterested and the place felt cold and unwelcoming.
What would be important to you when looking for your child's school?? What would you need to know?

 

[Boomerslady]

Lol I have no idea but in going to the first this morning so it'll be interesting to see what's asked in the q&a ill feed back any good ones!! I already know this school is my first choice, my nephew goes there, me and my siblings went there, it's a stones throw from my house! But I want to have a look round myself, I have no questions prepared though.

 

[Mrs Mc]

I think its important to go with how you feel about a school. Especially in the younger classes, you want a nice friendly, cheery place.
I would maybe ask about class support, does every class have a teaching assistant? How long have staff worked there?
How big on average are the classes?
You could ask about any extra-curricular activites that they offer?

 

[stephx]

Sorry to jump in but how do you find out when their opening days are?

 

[MrsT&Ben]

Sorry to jump in but how do you find out when their opening days are?

I emailed the 3 closest to where we lived and asked. 2 don't do open days just one on one tours of the school. Apparently not many parents want to look around the school!

 

[hattiehippo]

Sorry to jump in but how do you find out when their opening days are?

Some schools have the dates on their websites and I phoned the ones that didn't.

I work in schools so visit lots of them. When looking round for Tom I've mainly gone for the feel of the place and haven't had any set questions to ask.

 

[Destiny08]

for me the main question i had to ask was regarding religion and culture. i grew up in a diverse culture with a loosely christian background. so it was really important to me to have things like christmas and easter acknowledged but to also acknowledge other cultures too.

i also wanted to know their routine and their stance on academics. writing etc.

 

[Jchihuahua]

As a reception teacher myself I will be basing my decision a lot on the feel of the place and the atmosphere. You can tell if the staff are friendy and supportive and the children are happy. Look at the displays on the wall as you walk throught the school to see the quality of the work they produce. Look at the resources they have in the classrooms etc too. I will look at the school's website before I go to visit. I will read the ofsteds before I go but unless major issues have come out of them I will be taking them with a pinch of salt.

In terms of reception I will ask about the settling in process, I will want to see the outdoor area and ask about the access the children have to it (outdoor provision should be available pretty much the whole time), I will be interested in the sort of resources they have in their areas of provision (most receptions would have maths/writing/malleable/small world/construction/book area/sand/water/sensory/music/computer/art areas). I will ask about arrangements over lunchtime (such as do they have their own designated area at lunchtime or will they be sent out into the playground with the big kids), I will ask about the learning journey books they keep, the phonics scheme they use, how much of the learning is child initiated and how much adult led and as a teacher I would be interested in the planning process but that's just to compare with what we do at my school !