Where do our children spend six hours a day, five days a week and 35 weeks a year between the ages of three or four and eleven - that's about 8000 hours? At their primary school!
What happens in this school matters. The adults they meet play a significant role in their lives. If our children are in the wrong school, there is unhappiness, poor achievement, worry and even bad feeling. We blame the school, ourselves or our children. They are unhappy - not just in the school but also in the evening worrying about tomorrow and feeling wretched on the journey to school. This is not the recipe for the best learning and growing into a confident, healthy person. We waste precious time visiting the school in unhappy circumstances instead of feeling proud and pleased.
With a bit of care you can set the scene to avoid this and help to give your child a good school career.
Plan of action
Think: what do you want for your child? The more detailed you can be the better. Consider your own values. Yes you want the best - but what does that mean? There are three key areas you might consider:
1. you want your child to be happy
2. you want a good education for your child
3. you want to be able to trust the school
Happiness
Happy children learn quickly and grow confidently. They are happier to participate and get the most out of the educational and social opportunities in a school. Children are happy if they feel purposeful and appreciated; praised for their successes; encouraged through their mistakes; and treated fairly along with their school-mates.
Visit the school and watch the children. Do they look busy, interested and happy? Is there an air of purposefulness? Watch them at playtime. Are children playing happily together in groups? Watch the oldest children - the ones who have been in the school the longest. How well behaved are they? How many isolated children can you see? Is there a sufficient number of adults supervising and are they engaged in conversation or activities with the children? You know your child. Consider how your child will fit into this.
Education
Check the school's test and assessment results. Are they average or better than average? Are the results improving over time?
The subjects that are tested or assessed at the age of seven are reading, writing and maths; English, maths and science at age eleven. These are vital to success in schools - but does the school promote good learning in the other subjects? Is your child going to be able to enjoy physical activity through organised games, dance and gymnastics? How important does the school consider creative activities such as art and music? Will your child learn about the world and what happened in the past? What about a foreign language?
Will your child be taught effectively and treated fairly? How well does the school support those pupils with special educational, physical or emotional needs? Do pupils have the chance to achieve to their fullest ability?
Read the most recent inspection report. It will tell you about standards and whether the pupils make good progress. Read the most recent governors' report which should include test results as well as tell you something about the school's broader activities and recent improvements. Read the prospectus. What does it tell you about its character and values?
Trust
How can you recognise a good school that you can trust? Visit the school; be friendly and open. Many teachers can be very sensitive so do your probing in a non-confrontational way otherwise you'll learn nothing.
Do you feel welcomed by the secretary and the headteacher? Has the school made an effort to look bright and cheerful? Are there attractive displays showing off the pupils' work?
As they show you round the school, ask if you can look in the toilets. You can often see how much the school values its children by the quality and cleanliness of the toilets.
What do the classrooms look like? How do they feel? Is there a nice working buzz? How do the teachers talk to the pupils? Are there after school activities?
Does the school have a clear policy on responding with parental complaints? Is the school a safe place for children to be in? What does the school do about bullying?
Are children given responsibilities around the school? The best schools get pupils involved thoroughly. Some have a "school council". Others have different ways of knowing how the children are feeling.
Talk to as many other parents as possible - especially those whose children have been there a long time. Ten minutes before the end of school is a good time. How do they feel about the school? What are its strengths and weaknesses?
Don't forget practical issues
Is the distance from home convenient? What will the daily journey to and from school be like? Will it create difficult strains in the family?
Make sure you have all the information you need from the local authority so you can make your application to the school before the deadline - otherwise you may be disappointed. The school you have your eye on may be over-subscribed.
Taking this care will give your child the best opportunities. It will then be up to him to make the most of them ... with your continuing encouragement and support. But that is another story.
If you want to know more about this subject, contact Clive who has worked with children in primary schools for over 30 years as teacher, headteacher, coach and mentor. He now applies his knowledge, skills and understanding to helping others fulfil their dreams. You can find out more at: [http://www.clivegrahamcoaching.com] If you want to share your thoughts or ask any questions, he would be very happy to hear from you. Contact him: info@clivegrahamcoaching.com
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
No comments:
Post a Comment