5 Useful Tips on How to Choose a Perfect School for Your Child
Good education is one of the bases of a child’s future growth. Therefore as a parent it’s your duty to find a good school for your child. But how can you do that? When you set out on the mission, all schools look good. So, are there any tips to choose the most perfect school? Here are a few.
1. Know about Schools
You can know more about schools in your area in various ways. For example, you can:
- Visit schools
- Read the school marketing materials, such as prospectuses, newsletters and flyers
- Read Ofsted reports of schools
- Contact your local authority and know about schools near you
2. Contact Your Local Authority
A useful source of information is your local authority. You can know the details on a lot of important matters, such as:
- The number of students in each school
- The application process and deadlines
- Sources for more information
It’s recommended to start collecting information as early as possible, so that you don’t miss the applications dates. You can contact your local authority online and get the information more quickly and conveniently.
3. Get Prospectus
You can even get the full prospectus booklet (this is also called the ‘Information for Parents’ booklet) at your local authority. Local authorities publish these every year for parents free of cost. Typically it’s published in the summer. You can get a copy even at your local library.
4. Best School for Your Child’s Needs
After collecting information of a number of schools, you can shortlist some of them that you think would best suit your child’s needs.
Before applying to a school, consider your child’s personality and overall needs. You should also think upon your family’s requirements. Think upon things like whether your child is more interested in arts or sports, or whether you need a school that provide after-school childcare. It’s not necessary that the school that has the best reputation is the best suitable school for your child or family. So, give preference to yours and your child’s needs.
5. What are Your Child’s Expectations?
Parents can make a mistake by not asking their children what their expectations are from the school. It’s actually important to talk to your child about which school they’d like to go to. This is especially important if the child is older and you’re choosing a secondary school. It matters to them, for example, whether their friends too are going to a particular school, so, they’d like to go there.
It’s as important to consider your and your child’s needs as the quality of education a school gives while choosing a school, so that your child can get educated and grow happily in her/his new school.
