Education
Five “Must-Do’s” When Choosing a School for your Child By Judith Judd
When my daughter was four, she came with us to visit several primary schools. Afterwards, we asked which she liked best. “The one with the shoe shop” she said. As it happened, we also liked the one with the (pretend) shoe shop and so that is the school we chose. Maybe it doesn’t always make sense to take a 4 year old’s advice when choosing a school but it’s always important to put your child at the centre of the process. Parents know better than anyone how different individual children can be. The first rule for choosing a school is to ignore the label. Research about different types of schools – academies, specialist, free, grammar - reveals that the type of school doesn’t guarantee the level of the education. The second is to visit the school. When you do, check out the relationship between children and teachers. Do teachers pay attention to what the children are saying? Do they respect them? You want your child to be happy at school and the relationship with teachers matters. Find out what progress pupils make during the time they arrive at school and by the time they leave. Schools’ exam results at GCSE and in national tests at age 11 give an idea of the sort of children who attend the school but they don’t indicate progress. You can get an idea how good a school’s teaching is by looking at progress measures available on government websites for that school.
Look at the Ofsted report. Inspectors give ratings: outstanding, good, requires improvement, inadequate. But equally important is their assessment of how different groups of children fare. A school may do well with able children but not those who struggle and vice versa. The reports also give an idea of a school’s strengths and weaknesses. That’s particularly important for older children who may have particular talents and interests. Talk to the Head Teacher. Leadership is crucial to a school’s success. It’s important that you have confidence in the Head and that she/he impresses you with their engagement with staff and pupils. Whilst choosing a school feels like a daunting process, bear in mind also that research shows that whilst schools and teachers are important in helping children thrive, parents’ support at home matters more. Judith Judd is co-author, with Wendy Berliner, of the book How to Succeed at School: Separating Fact from Fiction: What Every Parent Should Know. Published by Routledge and available from Amazon and good book stores.
A Word about Grammar Schools
Reception Testing Delayed to 2021
This may not be something you need to worry about.
Assessment (RBA) will be delayed until September 2021 because of the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Concerned that there are no grammar schools in your area?
A big study from Durham University suggests that bright children do just as well in non-selective schools as grammar schools. Professor Stephen Gorard says: “Dividing children into the most able and the rest does not appear to lead to better results for either group.” He says that there is no evidence that a particular type of school leads to better attainment. However, he adds that parents may choose grammar schools for the reason that they tend to cream off the more advantaged pupils in an area so that the neighbouring schools have to cope with a disproportionate number of disadvantaged and more challenging children.
6 Families London Surrey Borders
The government’s plan to introduce Reception Baseline
In September 2017, the Department for Education announced that a new start-of-school assessment for children ages 4 and 5 would be introduced as a baseline measure to track progress during primary school. The test is due to eventually replace key stage 1 SATs in providing the baseline on which pupil progress scores are based. The new tests have been criticised by some teachers, Head Teachers and parents, who claim it is unnecessary, will cause distress and could damage children’s future learning. More info: www.gov.uk/guidance/reception-baselineassessment familiesonline.co.uk
