Deciding which schools to visit

Few things cause so much angst for parents as finding the right school for their child. Once offspring have been through the system most parents wise up to what’s really on offer, how good a school actually is; what they really want for their child.

But unless you’ve got a crystal ball the best advice we can give is: do your homework; check out inspection reports; seek the opinions of neighbours, friends, fellow parents, specialist advisers; visit schools; and use unbiased guides such as this one.

Here, we outline what to look for prior to visiting a school.

What to look for when choosing a school

• Education must be challenging, and bring out a child’s full potential if possible, going beyond what that potential is currently perceived to be.
• Look for schools that are excellent in areas where your child can shine despite any difficulties or disabilities; achievement in one specific area often gives a child confidence to succeed in others.
• Often it’s useful to begin by thinking of the end point. What would you realistically expect your son or daughter to be doing in 20 years’ time?
• Academia is important but so too, is the development of the whole child. Seek out a school with strengths in non-academic areas. Your child may have special educational needs, but they have other things too – hobbies, interests, strengths, a personality...
• For the child who finds classroom tasks a burden, search for an all-round school which has the ability and desire to turn out an all-round child who will reach their potential.

Practical advice

Before you decide

Be honest with yourself. Neither emphasise your child’s problems nor diminish them. Be honest with the school too. The more a school knows about your child, the greater their ability to decide if they can cope/help.

If you think it will help, get as good a professional assessment as possible. Use an appropriate support group, which will be able to recommend professionals who can give you a frank description of your child’s needs. For a child with a physical/genetic problem you will have lots of useful expert information from the clinicians who have worked with them. For the child with behavioural difficulties, autistic spectrum disorder difficulties, learning difficulties, specific or global, get as much up-to-date advice as you can. Generally, a school will require a report from an educational psychologist (EP or edpsych for short) at some point for all but the mildest of cases. You can pay for a private EP report, though the local education authority may decide you must use the EPs they recommend.

Parent support groups are often brilliant, with more information than your so-called experts. The web is a good hunting ground, too, and don’t be afraid of looking up sites in other countries – Australian and American ones are often packed with information....