Choosing a school is a big decision.
All parents want their kids to be happy at school and to receive the best possible education. And being happy is the starting point because you just don’t learn properly if you’re in an environment you don’t like.
I’m mentioning this because we’re in the season of parental choice. Year 6 parents and carers have to choose a secondary school before the end of October and all schools are staging open evenings to show what they have to offer.
Before I go on to our forthcoming open evening, can I just give some advice to all prospective parents, choosing a secondary school. First of all, you should definitely go to its open evening because the event will tell you something about how well the school is organised, its facilities and its sense of pride. You’ll want to talk to the staff, of course, but there should be students there too and so have a word with them. I was put off choosing a secondary school for my kids because some pupils were trying to demonstrate a science experiment, but couldn’t say what it taught them.
But don’t leave it at the open evening.
There’s plenty of research you can do on the net – just Google the school and you’ll be sign posted immediately. And through gritted teeth, I have to admit that the OFSTED report is a must.
It’s also essential that you see the school as it really is so arrange a visit during the day. If it’s a good school, they’ll welcome you gladly and arrange for you to walk through lessons to get a feel for the place. An outstanding school (like one we all know starting with M) will offer a meeting with the head and for him/her to take you round in person. They’ll let you go where you want and (don’t laugh) insist on you seeing the toilets. That’s because we all know that the probable low point of a school are the toilets so they’re a kind of bench mark for the school’s consideration for the students. It’s a bad sign if they’re always locked in lesson times and, worse than that, if they’re graffiti ridden and smell of cigarette smoke, head for the car.
All this brings me to our open evening (and yes I will be encouraging parents to come to see us during the day and bundling them into the boys toilets whether they like it or not). It’s going to be a bit strange because in a way it will be an open evening for a school which doesn’t exist yet. We’ll be working alongside the sponsors in promoting the Consett Academy, but we’ll also be showcasing where Moorside is right now because that will be the foundation for the new school.
So if you want to find out more about the Consett Academy, come along to one or both of the forthcoming open evenings for prospective parents. The Moorside event is on September 22nd, 2010 at 6.30 pm and the CCSC one is on September 23rd at 6.00pm. You’ll get the chance to see at first hand what’s happening in the schools right now and hear about the sponsors’ proposals for the new academy and how they will build on our good practice.
All parents want their kids to be happy at school and to receive the best possible education. And being happy is the starting point because you just don’t learn properly if you’re in an environment you don’t like.
I’m mentioning this because we’re in the season of parental choice. Year 6 parents and carers have to choose a secondary school before the end of October and all schools are staging open evenings to show what they have to offer.
Before I go on to our forthcoming open evening, can I just give some advice to all prospective parents, choosing a secondary school. First of all, you should definitely go to its open evening because the event will tell you something about how well the school is organised, its facilities and its sense of pride. You’ll want to talk to the staff, of course, but there should be students there too and so have a word with them. I was put off choosing a secondary school for my kids because some pupils were trying to demonstrate a science experiment, but couldn’t say what it taught them.
But don’t leave it at the open evening.
There’s plenty of research you can do on the net – just Google the school and you’ll be sign posted immediately. And through gritted teeth, I have to admit that the OFSTED report is a must.
It’s also essential that you see the school as it really is so arrange a visit during the day. If it’s a good school, they’ll welcome you gladly and arrange for you to walk through lessons to get a feel for the place. An outstanding school (like one we all know starting with M) will offer a meeting with the head and for him/her to take you round in person. They’ll let you go where you want and (don’t laugh) insist on you seeing the toilets. That’s because we all know that the probable low point of a school are the toilets so they’re a kind of bench mark for the school’s consideration for the students. It’s a bad sign if they’re always locked in lesson times and, worse than that, if they’re graffiti ridden and smell of cigarette smoke, head for the car.
All this brings me to our open evening (and yes I will be encouraging parents to come to see us during the day and bundling them into the boys toilets whether they like it or not). It’s going to be a bit strange because in a way it will be an open evening for a school which doesn’t exist yet. We’ll be working alongside the sponsors in promoting the Consett Academy, but we’ll also be showcasing where Moorside is right now because that will be the foundation for the new school.
So if you want to find out more about the Consett Academy, come along to one or both of the forthcoming open evenings for prospective parents. The Moorside event is on September 22nd, 2010 at 6.30 pm and the CCSC one is on September 23rd at 6.00pm. You’ll get the chance to see at first hand what’s happening in the schools right now and hear about the sponsors’ proposals for the new academy and how they will build on our good practice.
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