Why a tour of the local school can help parents get top marks
It’s always good to attend your local school open evenings, even if you don’t plan to send your child there, says Armando di Finizio, head teacher of Eastern High in Cardiff
It’s school open evening season – so this is a good opportunity to give parents looking for a school for their child some handy tips.
Even if you have your mind made up, it is still worth attending your local school open evenings.
If nothing else, the observations you make will ratify your decision and give you peace of mind.
However, the comparisons you make may also highlight shortcomings in your school of choice.
In short – go along to your local open evenings.
The evening is likely to be divided into your tour and the head teacher’s talk.
For the tour, most often schools will provide student guides.
You can, of course, choose not to go on a guided tour and explore the school yourselves.
However, resist the urge to be independent at first, you can do this later in the evening.
It is always worth joining a tour initially as you and your child will pick up a lot from the guides.
It is also worth trying to go on a tour with a younger guide in Year 7 or 8 – they will be more forthcoming with information and set your own child’s mind to rest (hopefully!) when they hear about the experiences they had when starting at the school.
Find out as much as you can about the school from your guide.
Below are questions you might ask your guide and, if possible, other students you meet – the more students you ask, the clearer the picture you will develop.
Some may be obvious, but do ask them as they will encourage the guide to talk and be more forthcoming:
■ What are your favourite and least favourite subjects? Why?
■ When was the last time your books were marked in (choose a subject here)? Remember, teachers may not mark a book every week, but you want to know there is regular marking.
■ Describe what you think a good teacher is. Do you have many teachers like this in the school?
■ Do you know what you have to do to reach the next level? (You would hope pupils know what they have to do to improve)
■ What do you do after school? Are there many clubs?
■ Where do you go if you are upset or worried about something?
■ Is there anywhere in the school you avoid at break or lunch times?
■ Are you happy with the way the school deals with any misbehaviour? ■ How does your opinion get heard? During the tour you should be taken to all the subject areas. If not, then ask to be taken there.
It is important to visit all the subjects as this will give your child a chance to see how different and exciting secondary school is.
It will be daunting for your child, but hopefully your guide and other students will explain how you quickly become used to the size.
Prompt them to do this if they aren’t forthcoming.
It is normal for subjects to have student helpers and can be telling if they don’t. Ask them why they don’t have helpers, there may be a good reason.
Do encourage your child to talk to these helpers and, if the opportunity arises, ask them some of the questions above.
There should also be exercise books out for you to look at. If so look at the marking.
Are the books marked regularly? Does the marking tell the student the next steps and/or what they need to do to improve further?
Talk to the teachers, it’s good to find out what morale is like.
Are they genuinely positive about the school?
As you walk around look at the condition of the wall displays, the toilets (!) the equipment departments use, the library or learning resource centre.
Is there graffiti on walls? There is no excuse for this.
Graffiti does happen in schools, but if it is removed straight away the issue will be minimal as the students realise that the school as a whole takes pride in its appearance.
Normally at some point in the evening the headteacher will give a talk.
During the talk, make a mental note of the following to help you decide if the ethos is right for you:
■ Does the head use a lot of jargon that alienates you or others around you?
■ Does the head recognise the wide range of talents and abilities the students in his or her school has, rather than just focusing on the ones that are measured by the government (eg GCSE results)?
■ Does the head recognise there are areas for improvement, and outline what they are doing about it?
■ Are children used as part of the talk to describe the school? If so, is it totally rehearsed or is there an allowance for spontaneity? If students are given the opportunity to talk freely about the school and answer questions then it shows the school is confident in what it does.
■ What is your overall impression? Formal or informal? Warm and friendly or cold and distant? Genuine or a well-rehearsed political speech!?
Before you leave, make sure you have picked up a copy of the school prospectus and any other literature the school makes available.
And, finally, you’ll have your own views on the school your child should go to – but don’t forget to take into account your child’s views.
They’ll have their own instincts as to the school they would like to go to.
After all, they’ll have to attend the school for the next five or so years.