Choosing
The Right Education ??
Probably The Most Important Decision You Will Have To Make For Your Child
…. How Do You Make It? Some helpful hints if you are
considering Independent Education
As
a parent, choosing the right school for your child is probably one of the most
difficult and most important decisions you will have to make.
The first decision is whether to rely on the state school system or to
pay for private education. Private
education many years ago tended to be reserved for the financially well off or
upper class. Today things have
changed greatly and many parents decide to give their children private education
at great costs to themselves. They
forgo the new car and summer holidays to overseas destinations.
The reasons behind this generally is that they feel that a private
education gives their children a more rounded education, an opportunity to
experience a much broader range of activities and facilities, to take part in
competitive sport, and quite often through school life experiences, leave with
higher self esteem and confidence.
When
choosing an independent school you need to match carefully the child to the
school, and not perhaps choose the one down the road because it is closest to
you! You need to consider what your
feel your child’s strengths might be and whether the school you are
considering will nurture these strengths. Equally,
if not more important is your child’s weaknesses.
If your child has any Special Needs and needs additional support, is the
school able to offer this. Many
schools profess to have support, but is this a token gesture; are they really
geared up to support your child’s needs.
If you are considering boarding, this is now more flexible, there is
often full boarding, weekly boarding or flexi-boarding and looking at the
pastoral care will be of importance.
When
you read through the many prospectus’s you will no doubt start collecting in
your search for the right school, you will find that they all sound rather
familiar … ‘ our aim is to educate the whole child, to offer a friendly and
supportive environment … an environment in which children can enjoy learning
… encourage your child to achieve high academic standards …to care about
others and to be confident …’ They
all sound wonderful, so which one do you choose !?
A good
starting point is to visit the school either by appointment or during one of the
school’s Open Days. Identify what
the mix of children currently at the school is like.
By visiting and asking lots of questions you can usually uncover whether
you feel your child would fit. If
you feel your child is a natural at sport, do they have a strong sporting ethos
and the facilities to match. Secondly,
if your child seems bright (and we all think our child is!) and you want your
child to be pushed academically do they have the facility for accelerated
learning? Is your child musical or
would you like them to be? Do you
think they are a budding artist or thespian?
These
are all important questions, however, the most important is the feel you have
about the school … do you get a good gut feel!
Are the school friendly and the headmaster approachable should you have
any problems? Do you feel that as a
parent you fit in with the school culture, as you need to feel comfortable also?
Is the school turning out a ‘type’ of individual and if so, is it in
agreement with you? Do the children appear happy and are they smiling.. are they
polite or almost over polite. As one prospectus I read said ‘ What you will
not find at our school are children who press themselves to the wall each time
an adult passes.…’ What
is important is the teachers. Do
they spend money on the right teachers or money on making the school look very
impressive.. they may be fortunate enough to do both!
Most
independent schools should be able to do a good job with children who are
bright, above average or average. But
what about those children who do not fit into this category, who are a bit below
average or perhaps have a special learning need such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia or Dyscalculia??
How do these children fit into the often-high academic standards of independent
schools? Many parents of children
with special needs take them out of the state sector because the class sizes are
often too big and their child is falling behind badly because there is not
enough support. These children need
schools where their ethos is to educate the whole child and for that child to
reach his or her potential whatever that might be. Where as one prospectus says ‘many of our most exciting
success stories have concerned those who have overcome a particular learning
difficulty’. Some
independent schools have an open admissions policy, which is normally by
interview with the head and perhaps a report from their present school.
Other independent schools test incoming children to see whether they feel
they are able to cope with the curriculum ahead - whilst this is OK for average
or bright children, for children with special needs, this can often be a
stressful time.
Finally,
the best reference is often other parents.
Network amongst people you know and ask them where their children go to
school and what they think of the school. Ask
to talk with parents in a your child’s year at the prospective school, if you
feel comfortable! Most of all, take
lots of time choosing a school and if you are not sure, go back again for a
second visit, the school shouldn’t mind, and if they do, is it the right
school for your child?
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