School open days are a great way to get a sense of a school: its philosophy, its culture and its diversity. It’s an opportunity to discover whether the school is a good fit for your child and whether your child is a good fit for the school. If you are thinking of applying to a particular school, try and sign up for an in-person open day, especially one that takes place whilst the school is in session.
Having signed up, it’s important to get the most out of your visit.
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- Prepare in advance
- Attend the whole session not just the tour
- Take your child with you
- It’s a two-way street
- Have your eyes and ears open
- Chat with your tour guide
- Chat with the teachers
- Other sources of information
1. Prepare in advance
Firstly, it is important to prepare for the open day. Make sure you have read the school website carefully and note down any questions that were not answered by the website or that you still have. You will an opportunity to ask them during your visit.
2. Attend the whole session not just the tour
Many open days begin with a presentation from either the headteacher or someone on the leadership team, followed by a tour of the school. The presentation will include some general points about the school and how it functions. Use this time to get a sense of the headteacher as a leader. Do they come across as warm and approachable? Are they someone who is going to deal positively with your concerns, should you have any? What is their vision for the school and how does this impact their values? They don’t have to be the best speaker in the world, but they should convey that the children are at the centre of everything that the school does.
As part of this session, there may also be the opportunity to ask some general questions which apply to all students. For example, you might ask about the school’s homework policy, but don’t ask about Year/Grade 3’s weekend homework. You will have the opportunity to ask more specific questions whilst touring the classrooms.
3. Take your child with you
If you can, take your child (the one who may attend) to the open day with you. They may be a little bored by the long speeches, but it’s important that they also get a feel for the school. Children can be highly perceptive and may spot something important that you miss as you’re looking at the school from a slightly different perspective. They’re the ones who are potentially going to be attending, so it’s important that they feel comfortable.
4. It’s a two-way street
It’s important to remember that when you attend an open day, and especially for independent schools, it is not only the school community that is under scrutiny, but also you as parents. You are seeing whether the school is a good fit for your child, but the school is also seeing if you as a family are a good fit for the school. Therefore, be courteous and ask sensible questions. Show an enthusiasm for the school and remember to thank those who have shown you around.
5. Have your eyes and ears open
Open days whilst the school is in action are a wonderful way of to get a real sense of what it will be like for your child, and it is not only about what you can see, but also about what you can hear. Obviously, you want to see the children actively engaged in their learning and looking happy, but can you hear laughter? Are the children having fun? Are they doing most of the talking? How are they interacting with their teacher? These are all important things to listen for as they show a happy school with active learning going on.
In addition, if diversity and gender mix are important to you, make sure that you look at class and year group composition to get a greater understanding of this area.
6. Chat with your tour guide
Tours of schools are often led by current school students; therefore, take the opportunity to ask some questions and judge whether this is an example of how you would like your child to turn out. Children tend to be honest in their responses, and so you will get a feel for what the school is really like from a child’s perspective. You can ask about your tour guide’s experiences of certain things or some general school life questions. Irrespective of whether it’s a child or an adult leading the tour, this is a good time to ask those more particular year group/curriculum questions that you may have.
7. Chat with the teachers
This is not always possible as teachers may be busy with a group of children, but if the teacher is happy to talk for a minute, have some valuable questions at the ready. Look around at the classroom and take inspiration from some of the work/displays on the wall. You could ask what steps were taken in order to produce a particular piece of writing or how the topic of fractions is taught.
8. Other sources of information
Finally, open days are a great way of increasing your understanding of a school, but don’t make this your only source of information. Aside from the school website, there are also school inspection reports, online chat forums, social media and other parents, who can help fill in the gaps, and allow you to make the right decision for your child.