SFS News
What to look for in a private school
Posted on 17th September 2007
Some alternative questions to ask the Head when choosing an independent school.
If you choose private school education for your child, it can be the second largest investment after your house with a typical outlay in the region of at least £200,000 over 10 years. Therefore, making the right choice is critical for your child and you want to make sure that it is money well spent.
There is plenty of good advice out there from such books as the Good Schools Guide (published by Galore Park) and from the Independent Schools Council (www.isc.co.uk), on what to cover when considering the academic, sporting, cultural and pastoral advantages and disadvantages of the various competing schools, but how well is the school administered and how does it handle the unexpected? These important areas are often overlooked.
Although most private schools are also charities, do not forget that they are also businesses. How they spend the fees that you hand over each term in achieving the mission of educating your child should be of interest to you. You do not want your carefully selected school to close down half way through your child’s GCSE’s because of its financial ineptitude or inability to recover from a crisis or disaster. The reputation of any school can be shaken by its mishandling of an unwanted or unforeseen event.
Here, then, are some alternative questions, once you have covered the standard ones, with which to gently press the Head, when selecting a school.
Crisis Management. A business’s worth is measured, not by its routine running, but by how it handles a crisis. Schools are no different and for them it is even more important, when young lives could be at risk. Has the school got a comprehensive crisis management plan in place that can cope with all likely scenarios – a devastating school fire, fatalities on a school coach trip, serious injuries on sports or adventurous training activities? Is the plan updated regularly? Do all members of the Senior Management Team know their roles and are they practised in them? How does a school communicate with parents in a crisis? The more proactive schools nowadays not only have a well thought out and rehearsed crisis management plan, but also brief their parents to provide reassurance and practical advice on what they must do in the event of one.
Disaster Recovery. If the school can handle the immediate aftermath of a major crisis, what are its plans to restore normal service as soon as possible? It is amazing how many schools have not considered this problem in depth. Switched on schools will have estimated the amount of temporary classrooms and other standby facilities required in the event of a major fire destroying the school or the most critical part of it and will have insured for this eventuality accordingly. Few parents will change the school just because their son is doing his A-levels out of a portacabin instead of a Grade II listed building, but a rebuild could take 24 to 36 months and the school will need to have considered the effect on its ability to recruit new parents. The Head may well claim that this area is the Bursar’s responsibility, but one would expect him or her to know the outline of their disaster recovery plan.
Health and Safety
We are not talking about the application of sunscreen here, but real issues concerning fire and security:
o Has the school carried out a full Fire Risk Assessment and taken steps to improve any weaknesses identified? (This is now the school’s responsibility, not the Fire Brigade)
o Are fire drills carried out at least once a term (particularly important for boarders)?
o Are the staff trained in first aid and if so, how many?
o How secure is the site from intruders?
Contracts.
Finally, are all contracts and services (including insurances) put out to competitive tender regularly? Charities have a duty to gain best value for money and not to be profligate with their expenses. Any unnecessary or overwrought expenditure will find its way back onto the school fees that you pay.
Some Heads may take offence that you question them on these matters. If they do, it may be that you have caught them out on subjects that they ought to know the answers to. In any case, if you do ask one or two of these alternative questions, the Head will recognise that you are a professional, who understands that these issues are as important as getting the teaching right.