What questions should I ask at school open morning?

[AngelofTroy]

So.. It's all come around too fast and the school open mornings are starting. I feel like I should know what I'm looking for in a school but I don't! Any tips?

 

[LoraLoo]

I think this is such an individual thing... For me personally it'd be things like

Do they have breakfast and afterschool club
Is homework expected
What kind of reward systems are in place
Do they have an open door policy

But honestly you will just get a feel for the school when you go in and most things should be explained to you 😃

 

[caz_hills]

I agree you get a feel for a place. How are the kids - happy, laughing, in silence etc. What do the teachers do when you walk in. We looked around three (Hubbie came to them too) and we knew on feeling which one our top choice was. If wasn't and isn't the best OFSTED but we loved the small feeling of it, like a family, the kids showed us round not the head, one class intake so really small community village school. The best one near us is Catholic so we couldn't get in but there it felt to me more sterile, the head showed us round and no child talked to us. But it's OFSTED is amazing. So it's personal preference but we luckily got our beautiful little village school and the community we have become part of is amazing, our son loves it and their OFSTED improved this year so I would balance OFSTED with your personal views and what will work best for your child x

 

[LoraLoo]

I agree with the ofsted thing too, take it into account but don't base your decision on it- they are not a true reflection on the school imo

 

[jd83]

In addition to what was mentioned, I asked how they handle discipline. Do they have a discipline system, what is it, how does it work, etc. This could be different over there, but over here, I found this was a very differing thing with how they handled it, and some places I liked, and others I didn't like their methods so it was an automatic no for me. Actually, the preschool that my younger son goes to right now, I don't particularly care for the discipline system, but don't have another option because we moved to such a small town that this is the only preschool option we have. They take away outside play time as disciplinary action, which I feel is important time for them to have when they are just little kids. There are so many other things they could do rather than that, so its kind of frustrating.

Also, what type of teaching method do they use? Is it more play-based, or more set up to introduce them to what they will transition to in kindergarten?

What does a typical school day look like? What is the general rotation of activities, just to give you a feel for what types of things your child will be doing, and getting out of the class.

Do they provide a snack, does the parent provide the snack, or does the parent provide a classroom snack on a rotation basis? If it's a full day thing, what about meals?