Choosing a primary school for your child can feel like a huge step. How do you know your child will like the school? What are the teachers like? Does it have a welcoming atmosphere?
This is where open days come in, providing an invaluable and unique chance for parents to get a taste of what school life will entail for their children. We would recommend making the most of school tours to help solidify your decision about which school is right for your family.
What Is a School Open Day?
Open days are events organised by a school or institution that invite the public to visit the site, often incorporating guided tours, Q&As, informational pamphlets and the opportunity to roam the location freely. In our opinion, the best ones provide snacks too!
Open Days at Primary Schools
Our private school in Devon holds several open day events like this throughout the year so you can get a feel of our facilities, opportunities and values.
Why Are School Open Days Important?
Open days are important for providing parents and children with a unique and thorough insight into the inner workings of a school. The visit will allow you to ask questions and compile a proper pros and cons list about whether the school meets all your requirements. The usefulness of open days is really highlighted by its ability to:
- Boost children’s confidence by getting them more familiar with the school
- Give parents firsthand experience of their child’s potential school life
- Establish relationships with teachers and other staff from the start
- Give parents the opportunity to ask questions and get more personal answers
1. Introducing Children to a School Can Boost Their Confidence
There’s a good chance you can remember your first day jitters! Open days are a great idea not just for parents but also children, as attending a new school for the first time can be an intimidating venture.
While children can’t be expected to take in everything from a taster event, even a passing familiarity with the school can make it seem like a far less scary prospect for pupils. For this reason, we suggest making the most of open days whenever you get the chance so your children can make the transition to primary school with ease.
2. Get Firsthand Experience of School Life for Your Child
While a school may have an excellent reputation, you can’t always get a good feel for a place from pictures or word of mouth alone. Sometimes you need firsthand experience in order to judge whether a school has a welcoming atmosphere.
Open days can allow parents to gauge their child’s reaction to the school’s environment. However, do keep in mind that some children are going to be nervous regardless of how warm or inviting an environment is, so try not to let their wariness dissuade you from choosing a school if it ticks your boxes.
3. Establish a Relationship
An open day can provide an excellent opportunity to establish a relationship with the teachers and Head of the school early on. This can be vital for cultivating an ongoing and mutually supportive relationship between staff and parents.
It can even help parents discover ways to get more involved with their child’s education. For example, some schools will have a Parent Teacher Association (PTA) to encourage a collaborative bond and make the school experience just that much better for your children.
Added to which, your children will get a chance to introduce themselves to other potential pupils, laying the groundwork for future friendships.
4. Preparation & an Opportunity to Ask Questions
Preparation is key so, naturally, parents who are invested in their children’s education will have questions about the schools they’re considering. What better way to prepare than getting all your burning questions answered at an open day event?
Visiting the school itself is an excellent way of gathering information about the layout, curriculum, and anything else you can think of. You can usually expect to meet and chat with the head teacher, staff and pupils on open days, as well as get more in-depth answers than you would from just looking at the website.
You can see our guide on the best questions to ask at school open days if you want to make sure you really get the most out of it.
Open Days at St Peter’s Prep
At St Peter’s Prep, we believe that first impressions are crucial, which is why we always organise annual open days for the benefit of parents and potential pupils. You can expect a guided tour of St Peter’s Prep school by a Year 8 pupil who can provide a personal account of what life is like at St Peter’s.
When the tour comes to an end, you can head to the Dining Hall for some complimentary coffee, tea, juice and pastries! We highly encourage parents to use this time to ask us about anything they want to sate their curiosity. If you want more information, find out for yourself what happens at a St Peter’s Prep open day.
To join us no our next open day, check the dates below. Alternatively, you can book a personal tour to see what we’re all about!
