Choosing a school

Choosing where your child will go to their first school is a big decision; it is, after all, the place where they will spend the next seven years and could affect the rest of their life. Dad Info runs you through the education options...

Choosing schools

Finding a school for your child is likely to raise your stress-levels several notches – especially when you discover other parents who’ve had the whole business smugly sorted since their babes were embryos. Don’t panic – just follow this advice….

When to apply

Secondary schools
There’s much talk about choice but the reality is that unless you go private or your child gets into a grammar-type selective school, the catchment area remains the main criteria for selection.

• Children are required by law to be in full-time education by the beginning of the term after their fifth birthday.
• The cut-off point is September 1, so if your child was born on August 31 they will start Year One a few days after their fifth birthday and will be the youngest in the year. They will therefore start their Reception Year, which involves a full school day, shortly after their fourth birthday. 
• Your local education authority will contact you in the preceding year about how to apply. Enquire if you don’t hear from them.

Where are the schools?

Your first step is to identify the schools in your area for which your child is eligible.

• This can be trickier than it sounds because ‘catchment’ areas vary annually, depending on demand and birth rates.
• If you are outside the catchment area of your preferred state primary school, there may be other criteria that will apply to you (for example, religious schools have a preference for churchgoers).
• If you are refused, you have the right of appeal.

Assessing the schools

A good place to start is the school's latest report (the verdict of the Government’s school inspectors) which can be found by following the school assesments links:

You will learn about the school's class sizes, social make-up, ethos, areas of success and failure, zones of expertise and its place in the league tables (how well its pupils have done in their SATS exams at the age of 10 or 11).

If a school is judged unsatisfactory in an area you regard as important, alarm bells should ring.

Checking out schools in person

Many schools allow you to speak to the head teacher to arrange a visit. Look around carefully.

• See how engaged the children are in their work and how happy and polite they are.
• What are the facilities like? Check out computer sites, the gym and outdoor play areas.
• Speak to parents with children already at the school and ask how they have found it.

Secondary schools

• If you’re the father of a toddler this may sound ridiculously premature but remember, competition for good state secondary schools is even more intense than with primary schools.
• There’s much talk about choice but the reality is that unless you go private or your child gets into a grammar-type selective school, the catchment area remains the main criteria for selection.
• In other words, where you live counts for a great deal.

Going private

If there are no state primary schools in your area that satisfy you and you have the money to afford school fees, then you may consider a private school (known at starter-age as pre-preps, which start at the age of four).

They are inspected (but not by Ofsted), and you will need to get even more involved in the selection process to ensure that you'll get the best value for your money.

Author

Gavin Evans is a father of two daughters - aged 17 and 13 - and lives in North London. 15 years ago he changed gear from being a full-time reporter to full-time parent and part-time journalist. His writing on issues affecting fathers has been published in a wide range of publications including The Guardian, The Independent, Men's Health, Cosmopolitan, The Times and The New Statesman. He has written five books on sport, a chapter on men in Your Pregnancy Bible and is completing his first screenplay. Gavin also regularly posts blogs at www.gavinevans.net.

Your thoughts

What do you think? Did you feel you had much of a choice when it comes to the school your child will attend? Or is parent's choice a bit of a politician's preoccupation? Use our comments system below to share your thoughts.