Then I share with you the aspects that, both from my mother's perspective and education professional, I can contribute.

You may consider taking your children to a certain school because it is close to your home or work. On the contrary, you don't mind moving a little more because what you value is that they can study at a bilingual school, or because someone you know takes their children there. Or you may even be valuing one of the schools that appear in the rankings published in the press.

Before all this, I invite you to stop and think: What is important for you and your family? What are you looking for for your son or daughter?

Each family must find the best school for their children, which will be the one that best suits its values ​​and priorities. The school that I consider better for my children does not have to match the one my friend considers for her own. Even though we agree on the same parenting philosophy. And there is no perfect school, but aspects that can fit better with each family and, above all, with each child.

Therefore, I recommend that before starting to look for schools, do an exercise to stop and think (you alone or with your partner, if you have it) What aspects are important to your family and what would you like the school to offer. Below I leave some issues that you can take into account.

2. Visit and Inforetet

Once you have clear what aspects you would like the school of your children to have, It's time to start informing you. The first letter of presentation of the schools is through its website and social networks. There you can get an idea of ​​the aspects to which they give priority, how they organize and work, what kind of activities they do, their communicative style, etc. And once you have a selection with the schools that meet the aspects that are important for your family, it is time to visit them. For this you have several options:

Open doors:

If you have the possibility, I encourage you to attend the open doors of the schools that interest you. This will allow you to see first hand “The environment that is breathed”, talk to the teaching team and the center's address, visit the classrooms and spaces, observe the relationship and treatment between teachers… If you look at the details, you can get a lot of information: how the classrooms are organized (individual or group seat… The decoration of spaces gives you information about how they work and what aspects prioritize. Even so Do not get carried away by appearances and look for small details: Behavior traffic lights? Compensation system with positive or negative points? Tons of chips and textbooks? How are the classroom rules formulated? Look and ask To the team that is organizing the visit, they will clarify your doubts and you can get an idea to check if what you see goes in tune with what you have considered you want for your children.

School fairs:

In large cities such as Barcelona or Madrid, fairs are organized in which schools have a space to expose their project and where you can talk to representatives of the educational team. This is the case of The Madrid school fair. This fair congregates the largest number of educational centers in the same space to inform families about their study systems, helping them choose the option that best suits them. In addition, it has a children's area and a cycle of talks, activities and workshops for families.

3. Aspects that you can take into account

Public, concerted or private

This criterion is determined by both personal preferences and the family economy. In addition, some families rule out public schools because they prefer that their children complete all their education in the same center (from children to high school), which is not possible in the public, because at 12 years children pass to the institute.

LAICO THE RELIGIOUS

Are you looking for a secular or religious school? In case of choosing a religious school: how much importance is given to religion and how is it taught? Keep in mind that not all centers is the same.

Ideology and values

It is convenient to know what type of ideology and values ​​promotes school. The curriculum is the same and mandatory for all educational centers, but each center works the contents differently, forming its own educational style and giving more or less importance to certain aspects. Through the ideology and the values ​​of the center you can know if it is behavioral or constructivist, if it is punitive or if it is based on the dialogue, what aspects penalize and to what other aspects give importance, etc. What are the norms of coexistence of the school and its internal regulations? What importance is given to emotional intelligence and how do you work? How is students transmitted, both in theory and in practice, values ​​such as tolerance, respect or equality?

Coexistence

What kind of sanctions apply in the case of not complying with the rules? What protocol exists to prevent and face conflicts? Are punishments and sanctions used? How do you propose prevention and acting in case of bullying?

Methodology

Do they use textbooks, chips or work for projects? Are there duties? Do active methodologies apply? What kind and/or subjects? What is evaluation like? Cooperative work, learning and service, inverted class, gamification, project work… Find out what methodologies and dynamics use and find out to know what they consist and what advantages they offer.

Communication with families

Is there a fluid communication between family and school? How are doubts resolved? What channels do they use to communicate? Educational platform, interviews, contact with daily teachers and face to face, agenda, email, circular, social networks…

Closeness

The distance from home is another topic to be valued. Can you walk or have to take public or private transport? What daily time do you have to devote to displacement? Is it compatible with family organization? Can you go alone when you have a certain age?

Languages

Another factor to consider is whether we want the school to be bilingual or not, and if so, how to teach languages: how many hours are they dedicated to each of the languages? Are you giving it native teachers? What kind of activities are carried out?

Other points to take into account

• • Is there adaptation period for children's students? How is it done?
  • With what kind of support does the center count to attend to diversity?
  • Are there internal psychopedagogical and orientative cabinet accessible to families?
  • Is there association of mothers and fathers? How is it perceived? Is there a good relationship with the school?
  • Is the teacher team consolidated or are there many variations every year?
  • Is it a small school with few classrooms per course or are there several lines?
  • How is the noon space organized? Internal teachers, external personnel, monitors, free or guided activities during noon…
  • Do they have their own kitchen or take care of a catering company?
  • What role does technology have in teaching students? Do they use electronic devices at any stage? Is there ICT project? Do they work computer science, programming or robotics?
  • Tiene Journey continues the match match?
  • Are the facilities careful and clean? How are classrooms, patios and common spaces? Are there specific classrooms? There are light, green and natural areas…
  • What kind of exits and excursions do the center and how often do they do?
  • Do they offer extracurricular activities or expanded schedule? This aspect can be interesting for families that have difficulty in labor and family conciliation.

Collect information, find out and listen to opinions, but without taking them as definitive for your final decision. Listen to you, get on what transmits you, what you see and what you feel when visiting the center or educational fair. Be true to your instinct.

Remember that There is no perfect school, nor is the perfect family. The important thing is to find a center that Transmit trust, that you feel that you leave your children in good hands and where there will be a Continuity with the education and values ​​you transmit from home. And if you consider that the school is not what you were looking for or change your needs, keep in mind that this choice is not irreversible. It is not the end of the world! You can always change your child to another center that suits what you are looking for.

I hope this article helps you and… Welcome to school! 🙂

And you, what aspects do you consider key to the choice of your children's school? Would you add any more point?