Guest post: How to choose a primary school

Welcome to the next stage of your life, says Sarah Ebner, author of Starting School Survival Guide: everything you need to know when your child starts primary school. If you have a three or four-year-old child (or, if you are impressively efficient, one even younger than that), you need to start thinking about applying for primary schools. 

In part one of our four-part series, Sarah who also writes for The Times’ school gate blog, talks you through making the right choice. 

Choosing a primary school is probably one of the scariest decisions you’ve had to make in your life as a parent so far. Schooling seems so important and grown-up. It also seems like something that really will make a difference to your child’s life. No one wants to get it wrong.

But life has changed since most of us simply pottered off to the nearest local school (although this still does generally happen in the Scottish system). Nowadays, choosing a school can be full of twists and turns.

So, now’s the time to think about what kind of education you want for your child and to be honest about what kind of parent you are. Are you looking for small class sizes, lots of individual attention and good sport and music facilities? If so (and you can afford it), then you may want to consider private as well as state schools.

However, if your priority is a local school (with local friends) within a short walk from your home, why look further than the school down the road? Providing you can get in, that is…

Problem number one is that the primary school which your child goes to is not totally your choice. You can list the schools you want and cross your fingers, or you can take the private route, but often it’s the local authority or specific school which decides. However, there are ways to make the whole process more likely to work in your favour.

What’s most important is not to wait for someone to tell you to apply. Admission to primary (and secondary) schools is not automatic. So, if you don’t get moving, you might miss the boat completely. Most local authorities (LAs) publish a leaflet or book about applying for schools. These may be advertised in your local doctor’s surgery or library or you could try your local authority’s website. Some LAs have particular staff dedicated to helping with the whole application process and/or offer a telephone helpline too.

You can also look up state schools in your area schools on the government’s Schools Finder website, using your postcode, although the government has also set up a new search facility for schools . It allows you to search all educational establishments (including nurseries and independent schools).

–Sarah Ebner, author of Starting School Survival Guide

Come back for part two of Sarah’s series this Thursday, which will focus on timings. 

About Holly Seddon

Holly Seddon is a writer, editor and community consultant and helped launched the community for Adoption UK, which won charity website of the year just 9 months later. She also writes a music blog.

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