The right school for your child can make a huge difference in their successful academic career. And the good news is that today, there are many educational options available beyond the local secondary school. But, the variety of options available can often make it difficult for parents to choose the right learning environment for their child. It’s important to know what you are looking for in a school to make sure that your child is not only receiving the best possible education but are also in a learning environment that is suitable for them, including if they have any specific needs. You might find that the local state school in your area actually turns out to be the best choice for your child, while some parents might find that their child will thrive more in private school, grammar school, or a school for children with additional needs. With this in mind, here are some of the main things to consider when choosing the right secondary school for your child.
Entry Exams and Tests
Some grammar schools and independent grammar schools will require your child to take and pass the 11+ test before they are offered a place. If this is the case with the schools that you are considering, it’s important to think about how you are going to help your child prepare to get accepted in the future. You can find resources for the 11 plus Sutton and 11 plus online learning resources available at testteach.co.uk. Test Teach offers a huge range of resources including the option to find a specialist online tutor near you to help your child prepare for this test and get into the best school during years four and five. Find out more about what they offer and find the right tutor for your child at their website.
Finding a Good Fit
Parents need to find a school that fits their specific criteria in order to ensure that it is the best fit for their child. Since every child is different with different requirements and needs, it’s important to apply your child’s individuality to these factors in order to help you determine the best school for them in your local area. Consider what you want your child to learn including the level of academic difficulty, any specific subject matters that you want to be covered such as foreign languages, and anything else that is important.
It is also worth thinking about how your child will learn best, including their specific learning style and any challenges that they might face when learning. Consider your child’s social needs and any extracurricular activities that they will want to start or continue taking part in once they are in their new school. It is also worth thinking about your schedule and whether you will need any facilities such as a breakfast club or after-school club for your child.
Choosing a Focus for Study
Some schools will offer a wider range of study options than others, and some will focus more heavily on one subject compared to others. For example, if you want your child to learn a foreign language, it might be worth looking into local schools that place a lot of emphasis on language tuition and offer it as a core part of the curriculum. On the other hand, some schools might focus on media studies and preparing your child for a career in TV or music, for example, if they are more creative and interested in this type of learning and future career. Along with making sure that your child is going to get an excellent level of tuition in all the core school subjects, it’s worth thinking about the subjects that they enjoy the most and their future plans when deciding which school is going to be the best academic fit for them.
Look at the Test Scores
While exam and test scores might not tell you everything that you need to know about a school, they can be a good indicator of the quality of tuition that your child is going to receive. Test scores will help you determine how well the students at the school are performing academically, so check the ratings for the local schools including OFSTED scores to get an idea of how well your child is likely to perform and be supported when attending there. It may also be worth looking into more information about how students have fared once they have left the school, including information on universities that they have attended or careers that they have started afterwards.
Classroom Sizes and Teacher Attention
It is worth finding out more about how much teacher attention your child is likely to get when attending a certain school, and how big the classes are going to be. Children tend to learn better in smaller classes where they are able to get more one-to-one attention on the teacher, who is not trying to divide their attention between everybody in a large class. It’s worth paying a visit if you can to see the classes in action and find out more first-hand about the experience that you can expect your child to have if they end up attending this school. It is also worth asking about the options for one-to-one sessions with your child and whether this is something that the teachers will offer when needed. Some schools can help you arrange extra tuition if necessary.
Pay a Visit
Once you have found some schools that appear to be an ideal fit for your child, it’s worth paying some visits to see more of the school on a regular day. Open day visits are a good idea since this will give you and your child a chance to look around the school, get to know it, and determine if it is somewhere that your child could see themselves learning and doing well. Open days often give you more chance to see the facilities and speak to the teachers compared to visiting on a working day. However, that being said, if you are able to, it is worth arranging to visit on a regular school day so that you can see how the school works in action and get an idea of the student experience on a day-to-day basis.
Ask Questions
Whether you’re visiting on a working day or on an open day, come armed with a list of questions to ask the teachers and staff at the school to help you better determine if it is the right choice for your child. Consider asking questions about the qualifications and experience of the teachers at the school and how they are supported in their jobs. Ask about how behaviour problems are dealt with at the school and what support is in place for students who might be affected by bullying and other problems. It’s worth asking about how much homework students are given and if there are any additional support services in place for students who might struggle with the academic workload. Finally, ask about the extra-curricular activities run at the school, particularly the specific ones that your child is interested in.
Finding the right school for your child is not always easy, especially if there are several options to consider in your area. Keep these factors in mind to find a secondary school that will be the best fit for your child.
