|
|
|
|
Research A School
|
|
|
|
|
This section is aimed at helping you find information about schools. Only when you
are armed with all the information can you make informed decisions about your child's
future. This process isn't difficult. You may be moving house or your child may
be starting school.
|
|
|
|
|
So where do you start? Here is all the information you need to research schools
in the UK, plus other useful websites and search tips.
|
|
|
|
League Tables
|
|
|
|
Whatever Educationalists think about School League tables you need this information.
Remember this is just one measure, albeit important, of the effectiveness of a school.
To find out the latest rankings of Britain's schools based on their exam results
(S.A.T., GCSE and A level) visit the BBC News Education Website. Here you can search
for schools by name, postcode and area. Once you have found a school you can then
compare the schools exam results against the Local Education Authority (LEA) and
the National average. These results include the new 'Value Added' measure. Attendance/truancy
rates are also shown.
Note: Northern Ireland and Wales have abolished the production of League tables.
Instead schools will publish their own results in their prospectuses and governors'
annual reports, which parents will be able to compare with average figures for schools
in the area and nationally.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/league_tables/default.stm
The Interactive Guide section from the Guardian also provides information on GCSE
results and their grade breakdown. The University section provides details on recent
University inspections broken down by subject.
http://education.guardian.co.uk/guides/
|
|
|
|
Inspection Reports
|
|
|
|
For those looking for more detail information on a school go to the Ofsted website.
Here you can read the most recent Ofsted Inspection reports. It details when the
report was written, maps of the local area and the Inspection report itself. Inspection
Reports can be long winded. The opening sections are key to the whole report. Take
notice of 'The Main Findings' and the 'Key Issues for Action'. It is the job for
the Inspectors to find 'Key Issues for Actions', so don't be dismayed if you find
a lot, they may be minor in nature. Look at other school's 'Key Issues for Action'
and see if they compare favourably.
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/
|
|
|
|
School Websites
|
|
|
|
The ethos of a school can be shown very effectively through a school website. Not
all schools have websites and the quality of the websites vary enormously. Use Google
to search for a school website. If unsuccessful use variations of the school name
and join words together i.e. put them in inverted commas e.g. "Cannon Arthur" school.
http://www.google.co.uk/
|
|
|
|
School Address
|
|
|
|
Search for a school address using the school name, post code or the school town.
Address Search
|
|
|
|
Local Education Authorities
|
|
|
|
You may want to research a Local Education Authority (LEA) or visit the LEA website.
All contact details can be found at the Department for Education and Skills website
using a simple search.
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/leas/
|
|
|
|
Directions
|
|
|
|
You will need to take a tour of the school. This will tell you more about the ethos
of the school than any brochure or website. To get a map of the school/local area
try Multimap. Type in the schools postcode and you can zoom in and out of any area
in the UK. Maps can be printed from the site.
http://www.multimap.com
|
|
|
|
Local Knowledge
|
|
|
|
When visiting the school ask local shop keepers and residents about the school.
To find out other local information, such as house prices, council information etc.
try UpMyStreet. There is a host of information here that should build up a profile
on the locality.
http://www.upmystreet.com/
|
|
|
|
Feedback
|
|
|
|
If you have any suggestions as to websites you have found useful when researching
a school not mentioned here, e-mail them to us at
info@10ticks.co.uk
mark the subject box 'Research a School'. If you find a broken link e-mail
info@10ticks.co.uk
with the details.
|
|
|
|