How to check out a school
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Visiting a school as a prospective parent can be daunting - all those years of submission to headmasterly authority, and now you're expected to stand up to them - so prepare yourself well.

Lists of questions tend to make heads bristle, but it does no harm to take them along for prompting. Obviously not all are applicable to every school: ask even half these questions and you will probably never be invited back again.

Action

1. Send for the prospectus, a copy of the school magazine, the list of governors, and ask for the last three years' results (for senior schools) and leavers' destinations (for junior schools), the latest Ofsted or ISC inspection report (and the school's reply to it), and read them. This saves time on crucial matters such as registration, subjects offered, exeats, though some of the information may be out of date. NB Ofsted reports, good as they are, are written in obscure language by educationalists, can be hard to penetrate, and may entirely fail to see the school from a parental point of view; ISC reports are too cosy by half - read with a large pinch of salt.

2. Make an appointment to see the head and to see round the school. You may find you are fobbed off with an open day, registrars, etc, and for big schools with large numbers of applicants this is an understandable way to start. It is, however, time-consuming for you: remember you have to meet the head - no amount of wonderful buildings make up for a rotten one. Make a note of how the receptionist/secretary etc seem to you - they often absorb the underlying character of the school and play it back amplified.

3. What to wear? Projecting the right image - not too smart, but not dowdy either - it all helps with the confidence.

4. On the day of your visit, get to the school early in order to sniff around. Approach children/staff and ask them anything (e.g. where is the main school notice board?). It's amazing how telling their replies can be.

What to look out for

What are the pupils like? Do you want your child to be like that? Bearing of pupils - politeness, neatness. Bearing of staff, ditto. Do they look clean, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (or whatever you like)? Attitude of pupils to staff and vice versa. Does the head know who they all are (you'd be surprised)? Do pupils flatten themselves against the wall as the head passes? Do they flatten him/her against the wall as they pass. (If so, do they stop and say sorry?) Is self-confidence universal, or confined to just some kids (and if so, which ones?) Is the atmosphere happy? Fraught? Coerced or co-opted? Do you fall over pupils smoking in corners? Do the drains smell? What is the state of the paintwork, etc - a glance at the ceiling will usually tell (not that it matters per se).

Grab an exercise book or three in passing and look at the standard of work and the standard of marking - this can tell you an enormous amount. Check the size of teaching groups - it's amazing how often numbers do not tally with the official version. What is the average age of the staff? All old can mean not enough dynamic new ideas or energy; all young can mean too inexperienced and also, possibly, too transitory. Ask if you can pop in to a class, or have a good long look through the peep holes, and see what is really happening: are the children dozing, is the teacher dozing, is there rapport between the teacher and the taught?

What's on the walls - look for evidence of creativity and the celebration of pupils' achievements. Observe the state of the library: rows of dusty tomes look impressive but bright, new and dog-eared is healthier. Where is the library - is it in a useful position, do the troops use it? What is the annual book budget? And, incidentally, where is the head's study: is he in the thick of things, i.e. finger on the pulse, or is he still in his ivory tower? Look at notice boards for signs of plenty going on, and names you know (for grilling later).

What are the computer facilities like? Are there enough for all the kids all the time (according to the school? According to the kids?) Are keyboarding/typing skills universal? Is good use made of the internet, and is the internet access fast? Do all teachers use computers in class as an integral part of lessons, or just some of them? Is the school proud of its imaginative use of computers?

Questions to have up your sleeve

1. What are the results like? This is one for the head. Watch the whites of his eyes as he gives you the answer - and see the article on the League Tables.

2. What are the 'value added' scores like? Most schools now use one system or another of monitoring value added - the improvement in pupils' performance over the years. ALIS - A level information system - and it's younger cousins MidYIS and YELLIS are a common one. Very few publish value added information (yet), but you should be allowed a glimpse.

3. How does the school monitor progress (pupils and, indeed, staff?) School reports? Point systems? Incentives? Regular tests? The best will be integrated with the value added system.

4. How much does the school spend on staff training, and what do they train them to do? Do any of the staff write school books or work as chief examiners? How much does the school really care about the quality of its staff?

5. What is the size of the classes - biggest and smallest? (Though NB a good teacher teaches any class size competently; bad teachers do not become good teachers by reducing class size.) Don't give the answer too much weight - good management and good staff are much more important.

6. What is the ratio of full-time teaching staff to pupils? How many part-timers are there? How part-time are they?

7. What is the turnover of staff - do too many stay too long? NB you are unlikely to get a straight answer on this.

8. Which exam boards are taken? (This doesn't help, but shows you are on the ball.)

9. What is the size of the library budget? What arrangements are there for getting hold of new books, papers?

10. What special projects are currently on the go?

11. Does the school have help on tap for special learning difficulties? If so, how much help, in what form? If this is of particular interest to you, see our section on Special Needs. NB mainstream schools that do well by children with SENs are often excellent places for all sorts too - the systems of individual attention and understanding that support SEN pupils mean that any child in any trouble is picked up quickly and dealt with sympathetically. Also encourages 'diagnostic teaching' - not 'it's wrong' but 'what's wrong.'

12. Does the school feel responsible for pupils once it has accepted them - or will it fire misfits/slow learners if they don't shape up quickly? How many pupils leave after GCSE and why? Are any encouraged to leave then (as not up to A levels, etc? V bad news) (They may not be honest about this.)

13. How many are imported into the sixth form from outside? NB this probably will affect the school's results and needs to be looked at with a beady eye, i.e. they may be reaping the benefits of another school's hard work.

14. How is the school coping with the new A level system? Do pupils have more or less work to do, more or less time for extras, a more interesting spread of choice of courses? None of this will show in results until 2002. Talk to some sixth formers about how they are finding it.

15. What is the pressure of work? Amount of work? Homework? Setting? Streaming?

16. How involved are parents with the school? Can parents talk to (or e-mail) teachers when they want to? Is there special provision for parents on the school website? How does the school report to parents? How often are school reports issued? Monthly? Termly?

17. What emphasis is there (if any) on religious teaching?

18. How are pupils selected? What is the school looking for in the pupils it takes?

19. Is there automatic promotion from the Junior School to the Senior? If not, under what circumstances are pupils rejected, and how many each year?

20. Who are the pupils and where do they come from?

21. Where do pupils go on to?

22. What is the careers advice like?

23. What subjects and extras are on offer? Can they really deliver? Beware: schools are inclined to pay lip-service. A small school offering dozens of extras is probably doing none of them very well.

24. How many learn a musical instrument, and for how long? Are practise sessions time-tabled? What proportion of these are taught privately outside the school? What does music tuition cost?

25. What is the head like? What are his/her ambitions for the school and for him/her self? What is his/her history? What does he/she regard as most important? What does he/she really want for the pupils in the long run?

26. Until when is the head 'contracted'? (i.e. is he/she about to leave)? Is he/she married, with children (i.e. hands-on experience)?

27. What is the head's attitude to discipline? Drugs? Stealing? Bad language? Breaking the more petty school rules? What form do punishments take? Ask for a copy of the school rules - this can be illuminating - and ask how they have been established (from on high? With pupils?)

28. What does the school do about bullying? Bullying is universal, so 'we don't have it here' probably means they don't look, and there's lots of it. A good sign - frequent examples of dealing well with it. Who chooses the prefects? 'The boys alone' is an invitation to bullying, 'the staff alone choose the nicest boys' the kindest.

29. How many people have been expelled, excluded or suspended in the last two years? (This could pinpoint specific major problems.)

30. Who would not be happy at the school?

31. What is the pastoral care like, who is responsible to whom, and are problems spotted early? Is there a tutorial system (moral or academic)?

32. How good is the health care? Do they notice if pupils skip meals? How aware is the school of the dangers and signs of anorexia? Is there a cafeteria system or a table laid and 'table talk'? How much fresh raw food is there?

33. What are the present numbers in the school? What has the trend been like over the last five years, and why? (NB you need to look at the trend within age groups to see which bits of the school are popular) What is the school's capacity?

34. Is there a shadowing system for new pupils? Any special arrangements in place to welcome pupil who comes in at an odd moment, e.g. the middle of term?

35. Is there a holiday reading list, and is there holiday homework ever? Never?

36. What are the strengths of this school - and weaknesses? (Always interesting to hear the answer to this.)

37.(At junior schools) do staff sit with pupils at meal times and supervise table manners, etc or is lunchtime intended to be a break for the teachers?

Questions for Pupils

1. What is the food like?

2. What subjects do you like best? (This often reveals the most popular members of staff.)

3. What do you like best about the school?

4. What do pupils value / care about / look up to pupils for being good at (in rank order) - e.g. work, sport, social life, drama, art?

5. What changes would you make if you were in charge?

6. Where is the head's office?

7. Are you happy here? What sort of kid would not fit in here?

8. Are you allowed to get on with your own thing without teasing or bullying? (This might flush out peer group pressure to conform.)

9. Why did you choose this school, and what do you think of the others that you might have chosen?

Question for the local shop/taxi driver/estate agent

What is the school like? This can produce a flood of enlightening comment.

For more information visit The Good Schools guide at www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk