4 Steps to Choosing a School for Your Child

SchoolPlaces.com.au helps take the pressure off families looking for a private school vacancy for their child. Search real-time vacancies and claim a last-minute place at one of Australia’s leading schools. Get on board and start saving today.

 

Most parents find making choices about their children’s education to be difficult and often worrying. Some research indicates that it can be more stressful than buying a house for many people.

Decisions about schools are very personal and it’s tempting to think that the particular school you choose will make or break your children’s educational success. The truth is that most schools in Australia will do a great job of educating most children, and on the other hand, things can go wrong even if the match seems perfect. So while it’s a good idea to think about all the questions below, it is perhaps more important to be involved and active in managing your child is schooling regardless of where they attend.

Factors when Choosing a School

Many parents simply choose the local government school unless is a particular reason to look at other options … Some of the important factors to consider are:

• the location of the school with respect to your home or work
• the size and history of the school itself including class sizes
• your preference to public versus private, particular religious affiliation, costs including uniforms and extra curricular activities
• the facilities at the school for arts, sport, academic resources and community engagement
• single gender or coeducational
• where your child’s friends are going
• how is the school managed – approach to behaviour management, curriculum delivery, social programs etc
• and many many more

The Process

Here are some ideas for shaping the process of deciding school your child will attend.

 Step 1: Think about your child and your family

• What is your childlike?
• Do I cope better in larger groups or smaller groups?
• To that particular needs such as a special language, physical support, all learning assistance
• Is it going to be easy to get your child to and from school as well as to all of the extra curricular activities
• Will your child be able to socialise with students from the school because they live in a similar area
• What are you and your child’s feelings or views about the school

 Step 2: Research

• Look into school options in a similar way to making any major decision or purchase – you can call the school, research and online, ask friends and family who may know the school, and collect all the written material such as prospectus and flyers
• Keep an eye on local media such as newspapers and social media to get an impression of how the school runs and whether the families are happy
• You can also use various government resources such as My School to find schools and compare them on some factors. Be careful not to rely too heavily on the statistics as they only represent a small part of what a school offers

 Step 3: Take a Look

• You can contact most schools and make an appointment to visit or do a tour. Many schools have open days and information nights.
• Principals will often meet with prospective parents and that’s an awesome chance to chat about the exact things that you’re looking for and see if it’s a school is a good fit for you

Step 4: Make an application or two

• The process varies at every school and across the states to ask about how you would register your interest to attend the school and don’t be afraid to register for a few options. Independent schools will generally charge a small registration fee.
• Most government schools accept applications from around second term the year before your child will begin but many independent schools have much longer waiting lists and so it’s worth contacting them early.
• For independent schools there is a great service called School Places where you can search real-time for vacancies and claim a last-minute place at some of Australia’s leading schools. This can be very handy to see where openings might have popped up and become available.

While it seems like a huge decision at the time, just remember you can approach it quite logically and make a decision that you and your child are happy with. Regardless of the school you attend, is far more important to stay engaged and listening to your child’s throughout their education and offer them support and guidance for them to get the most from their school.

Comments

comments