jollyswagman

Hi, can anyone advise how to guage which is a good school in Oz, in the u.k schools have ofstead reports which show the results of exams and the overall teaching of a school! I have not done a great lot of research into schools as we are still not sure where we are headed! Thanks

quoll

Often the back fence chat is as good a guide as any. Some states have reports on the school's performance in the NAPLAN tests at years 3,5,7&9 but they dont tell you all that much. For most states you can see which schools rank highly on year 12 assessments but you have to really hunt around to find them. Our unions are vociferous in their opposition to any form of league tabling. Other than that, the eyeball test - nothing beats the gut feeling you get when you walk through the door, watch the kids coming out of school, playtimes etc.

jayr

OP scores.

Sunshine Coast Settlers

Contact at least four or five schools in your chosen area and ask for their prospectuses or at least log on to their web sites, if you are impressed by the prospectuses or web sites call them and start asking questions. If you are happy with what they tell you on the phone, book an appointment with the Admissions Officer and ensure you set aside time to meet with Principals and Teachers. It is a good idea to visit during school time and ask to see the classes at work. Good schools will be proud, and more than happy to show you their schools in action. Think twice if they make an excuse. From these meetings you will be able to compare schools and get a feeling for which school would best suit your child. Speak to other people within the area about your choice of prospective schools too as they will undoubtedly hold a wealth of knowledge.

Depending upon the age of your child some questions you may wish to ask the school upon initial enquiry are:

What support is there for new students emotionally, socially and academically?
What is the average class size?
Is there a maximum class size?
What are their policies on behaviour management? Drugs? Bullying? Etc
How do their academic standards compare locally?
Would you be welcome in the classroom to help out with reading etc?
Does the school run before and after school care or school holiday programs?
What can you expect to pay per year on top of school fees for extras such as camps, trips, uniforms, fund raisers?
Who do you go to if there is a problem?

In addition to asking questions, look at the classrooms, are they warm and happy places? Are the class displays ripped or falling down or are they well cared for and something children would be proud of? Listen to how teachers are addressing children. Are they respectful? Too strict or too casual? How old are the computers? Are the classrooms adequately resourced? How well used is the library? Does the school reflect your personal beliefs? Look at how smart the children are and consider their behaviour in and out of class. You will get a better impression of the school by returning at home time and watching how the students conduct themselves when they are no longer in class.

Above all of this though, when you enter a good school, go with your gut instinct. If you are not sure, keep looking.

suzanne7575

excellent advice...wherever you are in the world

I visited both schools in the catchmenet area here in Scotland and although technically on paper both very good school i got a wonderful vibe from the one they are in at the moment, even though it is an old building, and my instincts proved right and my kids are happy and the school has a wonderful family feel to it and gets great results out of the kids. I will be doing the same when i move to Oz

benlast

I've always thought that spelling, grammar and good written English were a reasonable indication...



Ben

Rossi

You have to make sure ALL the graffiti is spelled correctly

jollyswagman

Thank you so much for your great advice and taking the time to go into details, i will keep this post handy!

Geelong Gent

You need to use enter scores (not sure what state you are heading) as starting point but the detail selection should involve talking with the principal and senior teachers followed by a tour of the schools.

Your gut feel is the most important factor as this will pick up a multitude of issues - state of equipment, appearance of property, mood of children etc.

Watch for high enter scores where the schools are not the causal agent but recently imported children

While the curriulum is important so is the way its rolled out.

Lastly the first 3 years have been found to be the most important - that is Prep, Year 1 and Year 2. If you have young children dont make the mistake of thinking you will bring them across to a better school at a latter age - by then its too late.

jollyswagman

interesting point about the former years! My son is 11 and works at a higher level here in the U.K, i feel the fact that he has always been the oldest in the class gave him a head start at the beginning of his schooling!
My daughter is 6 and into her 3rd full year at school, she is at the other end of the scale and is the yougest in her class as she had to start school a few weeks after her 4th birthday. I feel she has struggled to an extent and i am hoping that she will feel more comfortable in the Australian system as she will be middle of the age bracket (Jan to Dec)and i am assuming she will have done a bit of extra schooling having started so youngcompared to some of the Australian children and if this is so it would greatly boost her confidence!
Any comments about these thoughts? We move in April of this year and have planned on Queensland however it looks like my husband may be able to secure employment in Adelaide and if so we will be heading there as in the current economy we feel we need to go where the work is!

Rosscarbery

Poor kid - my eldest was in the same boat in the UK but has done so much better since we arrived in Australia and he went back a year because of his August birthday. On the other hand my daughter started kindy (reception equivalent) a couple off weeks ago and turned 6 last week. For the first time I feel like I am sending a child to school who is ready for it. Here in NSW your daughter would be in Y1 (second year of school), I'm not sure about other states. Remember the schools here will also place depending on birthdays, some are more flexible than others. I know someone who arrived with a bright girl coming to the end of Y1 and she was put back into the middle of the kindy year doing stuff she could do with her eyes shut. I wanted my middle child to repeat a year and our school was happy with that.

bourbon-biscuit

Forget about the scores and rah rah rah- just go along and find the principal and interview him/her, have a look around (ideally when school is full and they're in class) and get your kids to ask questions and look around too. then listen to your gut feeling and your kid's opinions. The school that's right for your kid might not be the one churning out the highest scores, also your priorities might not match the school ethos.

jollyswagman

Thanks again for the informitive reply's, i do feel a lot happier about it all now as it is a big thing moving schools!
I like the thought of my daughter getting the chance to ease off a bit and maybe go over things she has already done, i believe it would be very beneficial to her self confidence! She is very loud at home but apparently the teachers have not heard her speak at school! I am amazed!

annqldau

Look at the OP's of the worst kids not the best kids.

Schools where the not so bright kids get good OP's and not just the naturally bright kids make more of an all round effort and don't just concentrate on the high flyers. Either that or they fiddle their figures.

A lot of schools with high OP's for the high achievers don't do so well at the lower end.

Geelong Gent

Yes thats a good point, and my concern at looking at published results. How much is due too the schools efforts to all kids and how much to buying in results? Look the majority spread ie 80% of the school.

If your child is in the top 10% is it really the influence of the school to start with?

If they are on the bottom 10% I struggle to see any of those parents being able to operate a computer