GUIDE TO STATE SCHOOLS

A GUIDE TO STATE SCHOOLS

THERE ARE SOME FANTASTIC STATE SCHOOLS IN THE CAPITAL, AND THERE CAN BE FINE MARGINS BETWEEN THE SCHOOLS NEAR YOUR HOME. MELANIE SANDERSON, MANAGING EDITOR AT THE GOOD SCHOOLS GUIDE, OFFERS SOME POINTERS TO CONSIDER BEFORE SENDING IN YOUR APPLICATION.

State schools exist not only in a variety of forms, but with nuances between those. Some areas continue to have a selective system at 11; others do not. Most secondary schools - and approaching half of all primary schools - are now academies. Plenty of these are part of large academy chains such as Harris Federation, City of London Schools Trust or Ark. Other schools are free schools - academies set up by local groups, often with a particular philosophy or faith. Although these are all state schools and funded by the government, academies and free schools, unlike community schools, are not overseen by local authorities and are permitted to employ unqualified teachers, deviate the national curriculum and set their own admission criteria.

However, worry less about the type of school - there are good and bad within all - but look instead at the individual school and how well it will suit your child.

Over the last 100 years, successive governments have struggled to improve education by reforming its structure, over and over again. What hasn’t changed is that in the UK all state schools are entirely free to parents as they are funded through taxation - though many now ask parents for voluntary contributions to help fill in shortfalls.

School admissions and catchment areas can be tricky. We explain the former and have produced catchment maps showing where children who attend (or have attended) a school come from. See how far they travel and, importantly, find out which schools you may be in catchment for, via our Interactive Catchment Area Search and easy to use catchment area maps. Be aware, though, that catchments vary each year.

CHOOSING A STATE SCHOOL - POINTS TO CONSIDER

The environment

Is there an air of care? Are floors polished, bins emptied, displays fresh, thoughtful, inspiring? A school may not have the best of everything, but it should feel welcoming and looked after.

What is the head like?

What strengths do they have? What do other parents, staff and students think of the school? A head can singularly make or destroy a school. Look for good, strong leadership with clear guidelines and boundaries. Do the children have a healthy respect for the head? Do they know much about the head? This can be quite telling.

Additional needs

What is the school’s attitude to those who need extra help and support, whether social, emotional or academic? Are there programmes to stretch the gifted, talented and able? What and when? What about those with special educational needs and disabilities? Are they helped, supported and included? How? How supportive is the school? Does the praise/discipline system flex to meet individual needs? Does it fit with your expectations?

Results and value added

How well do children do? Don’t just look at the headline figures, delve beyond the headlines. In the unlikely event of a school under-performing, ask what measures have been put in place to improve results - and for whom.

Ofsted inspection reports

Read the latest inspection report but take it with a pinch of salt if it’s more than a few years old. What are the headline grades? Outstanding, inadequate, or somewhere in between? What actions does the report suggest the school should take? Ask what they have done. Some schools share their school improvement plan with parents - you may even find it on their website. This is a good indication of where the focus will be in the coming year(s) and an indication of what they need to do better. But don’t judge a school entirely by its Ofsted report: it may have got its Outstanding rating by ticking the right boxes, or a ‘requires improvement’ rating because it didn’t tick a few boxes you don’t care about anyway. The Good Schools Guide reviews more than 300 state schools, giving our personal, independent views, written after visiting the school, talking to the head, staff, pupils and parents. The reviews are available to online subscribers and included in The Good Schools Guide print book.

PE, games and sport

How much of the curriculum is devoted to keeping children fit, active, healthy? Do they run teams for all? Is there sport for all - including those who find traditional team games tricky? Do they play against other schools? When? Which sports and teams?

What really happens after school and at break times?

Browse the school website and school noticeboards - what are the children doing? Are there plenty of extracurricular activities? What about trips and tours - for all or just the lucky few? Is the library well-stocked and well-used? Is there a refuge for children requiring a space for quiet reflection?

Lines of communication

How does the school report to parents? What, when? Is there an active PTA? Are there parent governors or are parents invited to be involved with the school in other ways? How? What about newsletters? Are these friendly, welcoming and informative or dull and instructional?

What happens when things go wrong?

Ask about their anti-bullying policy and for anecdotes of how incidents have been managed. What happens when children err? Who would be the key liaison person for your child? What is their role? If it’s a selective senior school, ask what happens to pupils who don’t receive the required grades at GCSE.

Homework

How much, how often, how are you expected to help? Are there clinics available for children who are struggling? Do they have any parent forums or meetings to help parents understand what children are doing?

STARTING SCHOOL

In England, children born between 1 September and 31 August will generally be in the same year group. Those with September birthdays are the oldest in the year. Most children start school in the September after they are 4, although it is sometimes possible for younger children to defer starting for a term or two.

Scotland and Northern Ireland do things a little differently.

Jon Tyson

APPLYING TO A STATE SCHOOL

● If you are applying in England at the normal time for joining a state school – 4+ or 11+ - then applications go through your local authority. You apply during the autumn term of the previous year, with a deadline for senior school admissions of 31 October and for junior school of 15 January. Selective schools must organise their entrance exams in order to give parents initial results before the application deadline – so for most of these you must register during June or July, with exams taking place in September.

● Some schools and local authorities set banding tests. These are designed to ensure school places go to an equal number of children from each ability band.

● You can list up to six schools on your application form, depending on your local authority [London is six throughout]. If you qualify for a place at more than one, then you will only be offered a place at the one highest on your list – so do list the schools in order of preference. The schools don’t know which others you have applied to, nor where they come on your list – only the local authority knows that. If at all possible, include on your list of preferences a school where you have a very good chance of a place, otherwise you risk being offered only Unpopular Academy three bus rides away in the next borough. Your local authority should publish the number of applications each school received in previous years and this should give you some indication as to which are most likely to be oversubscribed when you apply. One of the biggest factors in the distribution of school places is geography – i.e. the distance you live from the school – with some sought-after schools requiring successful applicants to live within a few hundred yards of the school gates. Faith school places are often the most in demand and generally require additional documentation from your place of worship relating to your attendance record.

● If you want to join a school outside the normal admissions time – perhaps because you are moving house – then in most cases you apply direct to the school, though local authorities can have helpful information of which local schools have spaces. Bear in mind that if you are relocating or arriving from abroad, you cannot apply for a school until you have a local address, and if a place is offered, you have to take it up within a short time. These rules don’t apply to those in the Forces and diplomatic service.