Choosing the right school for your child is a huge responsibility. It's going to be where they go every day, where they learn, the place which will shape them for their future. You want to make sure they will be happy; they will make friends; they will learn and thrive. So how do you make such a big decision and make sure you get it right?
Write down five things that are most important to you
Start simple and write down what is important to you when you think about your child's school. Is it the location? Is it where their friends are going? Is it the academic results of the school? Are the advantages of private school education important to you? Whatever it is, this is where you need to begin.
Think About Your Child's Needs
Every child is different, so you really need to think about yours and what will work for them. Do they need a more structured environment? Do they need individual attention? A small class, perhaps? Would they thrive in a more sports focussed school or one that does lots of music and drama?
Get As Much Information As You Can
You know your child, so all you need to do there is just make sure you know what you're looking for. But you don't know the schools (unless you went yourself, but a lot will have changed) so you really need to gather as much information as you possibly can. Talk to friends and family, search the internet, read educational magazines and look in the newspapers. Go to as many open days as you can or arrange a visit when it's not an open day, and you can see the school on a normal day. Go to the school fairs and any other events they have, see if you can go to the school plays. Then, of course, you must look at the results of the school which you should be able to find online. Look at what else the school offers in addition to the core subjects and how they handle issues such as bullying. You need a full, holistic view of the whole place and you need more than one so you can compare.
It's also important to look at the teachers, other students, their behaviour, their uniforms, and how they behave with the teachers. There's a lot to take into account.
Ask Your Child
Remember it is not you going to this school, it is your child, and they have an opinion too. Make sure that they are familiar with the school and have been on a visit or two. Perhaps they know others who go there or have been in the past. If they do have their own ideas or thoughts on the matter, then listen to them. Children do know their own mind, and it's worth discussing things with them. They might have heard something about a particular school that you're not aware of. So listen to them and remember that it is about their happiness and their future.
