Open Days Education
Stonyhurst College,
Lancashire
“Children aren’t as rehearsed as the adults and it’s by asking them, “what’s your best subject?” or “what’s the best thing about your school?” that you dig into their day-to- day experiences,” explains Paul Dix, a teacher-turned- behaviour expert. You can also learn a
Te head
lot about a school from its teachers. While they won’t break ranks and tell you what they really think of their leader, read the body language. Watch what they are doing during the
girl’s speech, designed to provoke gasps of admiration, had the opposite effect on the assembled parents
open day head’s speech, suggests Pam Walsh, head of the pre-prep department at Newland House School. “If they are shuffling in their seats, looking bored, nervous or simply disengaged, it may be a sign of an authoritarian leader and a school where – however good the results – fun is in short supply. Another head advocates asking several
different members of staff the same questions about basic school policy, like how the school communicates with parents. If the replies are strikingly different, alarm bells should ring. Even the school wall displays can
provide a valuable insight into staff attitudes. Are they recent and well put up? Even a one-drawing-pin-per-poster policy could signal an over-casual attitude to other, more crucial aspects of
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school life, says Peter Dix (no relation), a former head teacher. Pay very close attention during the guided tour. Schools aren’t out to deceive you but there are things they want you to see – the money they’ve spent on computers and interactive white boards – and others – whiffy changing rooms and dingy corridors – they definitely don’t. In the classroom, ensure
you see work that straddles the spectrum of ability. It’s great to
be bowled over by the technology and
quality of work but is this a school which can cater for all its children, not just the most able. Above all, recognise the open day as
the staged event it is and then ask to go back, giving the school as little notice as possible so you can see it on an ordinary day, “with its sleeves rolled up, not on its best behaviour.” See if the aspects you liked about it on
open day still permeate the place. Talk to more children and teachers. If you can, drive past early in the morning or late in the evening and see how many lights are on, and how full the car park is. While teachers shouldn’t have to burn the midnight oil regularly, a mass exodus as soon as the bell goes does hint at a certain lack of enthusiasm. And remember that ultimately, it’s
not about you but your child so however seductive a school, go with your gut
instincts. Take the case of the top independent secondary, where the head girl’s speech, designed to provoke gasps of admiration, had the opposite effect on the assembled parents. “She’d got a string of As and she was
going to be a medic,” says one disillusioned mother. “But we came away saying, ‘do you ever smile?’ I would rather have known that she was laughing in the corridors with her friends.”
Tips for open days
DO talk to as many children as you can – not just those handpicked to act as official guides. They can provide insight into how a school caters for all its pupils. DON’T let the school dictate all the agenda. Plan your questions and whom you’d like to speak to. If your child is keen on, say, drama and sport, ask to see those heads of department. “Nail them with your questions,” says Peter Dix. “Control the conversation and avoid glossy sales pitches.” DO talk to parents whose children currently attend the school. Some schools have parent
“ambassadors”. DON’T make up your mind too quickly. “I’ve had a situation where parents have gone to an open day of a really good school and been put off because the school went on about famous old boys when all they wanted to know about was what [it] was going to do for their son,” says the head of a London prep school. “I had quite a job persuading them to go and meet one of the housemasters but when they did, it completely altered their views.” DO take note of how a school reacts when you ask to re-visit after open day.
Autumn 2011 FirstEleven 39
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