Guildford Living Feb - Mar 2020

Time to trust in the future of prep schools
It can’t be easy being a prospective parent of a prep school child.
If you fall into this category you might have been forgiven, prior
to the December election, for thinking that there’s not much point
as the whole fee paying independent school sector could have
been abolished...
If the outcome of the election had
been different don’t underestimate
the independent school sector’s
determination to fight for its existence
with every legal pathway being followed
to test the legitimacy of such a policy. As
it is, the immediate prospect of a political
threat has greatly subsided and the
sector has the breathing space to make
its case more forcefully that we have
a right to exist and parents should be
presented with options for the education
of their children. It is for parents to
choose the school which is best suited
to their child’s needs, aspirations and
talents.
In the meantime, there is every reason to
have confidence in prep schools and their
future. IAPS (the Independent Association
of Prep Schools) has over 600 of the top
prep and fee-charging junior schools in
the UK. The first step in your search for
quality is to check if your possible short
list of schools for your son or daughter
carries the mark of quality by being
a member of the heads’ association
known as IAPS. This association has a
history extending back over 126 years
and the criteria for membership is strictly
monitored to ensure both the head, and
the school they work at, maintain the
highest standards. School inspection
reports are received by IAPS, for
example, and any failings identified have
to be rectified in good time to maintain
membership. In one sense, therefore,
the first level of due diligence a parent
might feel it necessary to undertake is
already done for them if the school can
demonstrate they are members of IAPS
and, better still, have been a member for
many years.
What should you do next as you are
feeling your way through the maze
of glossy publications and enticing
web sites placed in front of you. The
temptation is to look for a ‘brand’ name
and, to some extent, this has merit as
it will more often than not lead you to a
school with a fine reputation polished
over many years of conspicuous
achievement. The question to ask, of
course, is has the school a reputation for
success in the areas which co-incide with
the talents and interests of your child. A
fine school’s sporting tradition is of little
relevance if your child is a talented and
developing musician – not that those two
areas have to be mutually exclusive.
The resort to social media and discussion
forums is a likely step many will take but
if your chosen pathway takes you in this
direction then, at the risk of patronising
you, the reader, beware. Do you use
Tripadvisor when planning a stay away?
Do you believe all the messages posted
there and would you base your whole
view of a school on the postings of a
few with most likely a pro- or anti-line to
promote for their own reasons.
There might be themes to pick up on but
it really needs each parent to seek out the
things that are most important to you and
your child.
That brings me then to what you should
do. The most important thing is to visit
the school and not just on an official
Open Day. If a school can’t buff itself
up to look good on an official Open Day
it really is a poor do. However, chose
a day and time to suit you, though
be reasonable when negotiating this.
Nothing much is likely to be gained from
a visit if a good proportion of the school
is off their normal timetable or routine
because it’s the day of the annual whole
school cross country event. Ask to see
the class your child would likely join at
work and then visit older age groups,
looking for obvious positive progression
as revealed by the work displayed on the
wall displays. Find out the answers to
the questions you have about the areas
important to you and judge how open
and direct you find the responses from
the school. In short trust your instincts
and not wholly what others tell you.
If you follow this advice you won’t go far
wrong and then don’t lose any sleep at
all over the long term future of your prep
school. Let IAPS do that bit for you whilst
you concentrate on finding the right
school for your child.
Christopher King
CEO, IAPS
10 | www.guildfordliving.co.uk