Top Tips for Choosing a School for Your Child
Choosing the right school for your child isn’t easy by any means. There are a lot of factors worth considering, such as the quality of teaching, commute, facilities, and opportunities available, and of course whether your child likes it. This means that to select the right school and the best chance of getting accepted, you will need to start your school search as early on as possible. Parents tend to do this a year in advance so that they have time to thoroughly review their options and go to as many open days as possible. To help you in your journey, we’ve teamed up with a boys school in St Albans to share a few tips.
Come Prepared
An open day is the prime time to ask questions. You can speak with the teaching staff themselves and have a closer inspection. Before the day it’s a good idea to do as much research as possible, so if there are any concerns that you have you can ask them whilst there. If you’re someone that lives by spreadsheets and has a system for everything, why not do the same here? Create a brief table and add what you’ve learned about each of the schools you’re considering as you go along. This will make it a lot easier when cross comparing and narrowing down your choices.
Take Your Child with You
Of course, you can’t forget about your child. They will be the ones attending after all and will spend a significant amount of time there. At an open day they can explore the school grounds, get to know a few of the teachers and give you their verdict. If you successfully narrow down your choices and find the perfect school, viewing it prior will help with their transition as they will already be familiar with their new school environment.
Review Reports
Whilst a lot of what you will see on open days will help in your decision making, it’s important to review options thoroughly. Especially if you’re looking for a fee-paying private school. OFSTED reports are easily accessible and paint a detailed picture of schools. They are an objective source of information and any concerns will be brought up in them, along with their key successes.
Changing Your Mind
Remember, it’s never too late to change your mind. While of course this is a big decision, you can change your mind at any point and look for alternatives if things don’t work out.
