The challenge of searching, selecting and enrolling your child at their first primary school can be a daunting one for many parents.
The choice of a school represents so much more than the institution of learning. Your child’s school becomes where your child spends six-hour days for most of their formative years; the influence, socialisation and the kind of environment within the school setting can impact your child psychologically and their personality development and formation.
In addition, we are also quick to blame schools and teachers for the negative experiences our children may encounter; not always considering that sometimes not everything is within their control, especially when it comes to minimising bullying, wrong and disrespect during school hours. These are detrimental concerns because, as parents, we are entrusting the schools to have our children’s best interests at heart, but often we feel the school we selected does not meet our expectations.
The following information is useful when selecting an appropriate school for your child. In most instances, by the time our children are ready to begin school at six years old, we have seen their personalities take shape and the way they react or learn to varying learning sensors.
Early years of engagement in activities such as Mums and Tots, swimming classes, music and other sensory lessons allow us to observe which exercise stimulates the child’s brain, and we get to see them absorb information in the space they are in.
Each child is unique and it is therefore vital for each parent to determine the kind of school the child will benefit from. Some children, for instance, are stimulated by music and dance, and therefore, this cultural activity should be available as a school subject in the school you select for your child.
In other instances, young children enjoy ball and water-based sports, so these activities should be an option for your child at the school they attend.
Selecting a school that can facilitate activities that your child prefers can make any child’s schooling experience pleasant. In addition, these activities can also serve as motivating factors for your child to regularly attend school without any problems.
It is equally important to visit the schools before your selection is made. Visit and observe during school weekdays and open day events as well. A five minute visit to a classroom environment will indicate the teaching approaches employed within the school, how big the classrooms are, and how relaxed and at ease the children are while in a lesson.
These observations are central to understanding how the school functions and their approach to nurturing young children. If children seem to be happy, confident and at ease throughout the day despite their age and grade, this is usually a positive indicator.
One should also acutely observe if children at the school fear their teachers and principals or have healthy relationships with their school management team and teachers. A negative indicator would be an environment that instils a disproportionate amount of fear in the child.
In these spaces, children are never at ease enough to seek personal attention when they require it and voice their thoughts and emotions when they experience problems with their peers.
A school’s philosophy, ethos and value system are usually highlighted to the public. The ethos is indicative of the baseline value that the school functions from. For instance, some schools reinforce the fact that they have a learner-centred environment and focus, which means that the child’s learning experience is a priority, and this is complimented by their mottoes that encourage good academic achievement, a work ethic and dedication.
However, schools should also constantly be reminded of their philosophy and, if needed, be challenged by their school communities to keep their philosophy at the forefront.
For some of us, it is highly valued that the school gives our child a holistic education based on cultural activities, sport and academic engagements. In addition, some schools have the capacity to go further and be greatly involved in developing the confidence and self-esteem levels of a child by affording them opportunities to engage in provincial and national sporting, academic and cultural competitions, and events. In addition, some schools are also excellent at teaching children the importance of teamwork and collective building capacities.
Some schools are committed to having continual social and cultural activities to strengthen relationships between the school parents and their children. For the child that has an outgoing personality, this is the ideal environment, whereas, for the child that is not particularly fond of having an involved social life at school, this kind of school will not be fitting. This is usually determined when kids are about to enter Grade 9 onwards.
The emotional well-being of a child is equally important as the academic development. Children also subtly learn to manage their emotions through observation in their school environment. As parents, we need to question the schools our children in relation to how they assist the healthy emotional growth of a child. Some pertinent questions that parents need to think about are:
Do children have access to an in-house psychologist? Are children encouraged to be supportive of one another as peers at school? Are children at school taught the value of healthy relationships? Is the educational experience that the school offers holistic? Is this the environment that my child can possibly thrive in?
Teaching and learning are concepts, and for some children, their preferred learning methodology may not always be through a classroom environment. In these instances, a child should attend a school that offers more than one learning focus (social, cultural, sporting and academic). Therefore, the way forward would be to question, assess and observe a school before the application to enrol your child begins.
Dr Sheetal Bhoola has a PhD and two Master’s degrees in the social sciences. She is a lecturer, researcher and a freelance writer. Bhoola has been the recipient of awards and academic scholarships throughout her career. Visit www.sheetalbhoola.com.