How to choose the best private school for your child
Beyond the glossy brochures and carefully crafted tours, here's what parents really need to know about picking the perfect school for their child.
Parenting
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It’s one of the most crucial decisions a parent can make. But choosing a school that’s a perfect fit in a minefield of options can leave well-meaning parents feeling like they’ve failed the test.
It’s why News Corp has revealed Australia’s Top 100 Private Schools today.
The schools ranked on this highly coveted list aren’t only featured due to their world-class academic performance.
It’s the result of rigorous analysis of more than 20 metrics, including campus facilities, student-teacher ratios and funding levels – as well as their breadth of subjects, sports and extra-curricular activities.
It was a benchmark created with the help of a range of education experts, who breakdown exactly what makes a standout private school and how to choose the best one.
TAKE A TOUR
Get a spot on a guided tour, which is often led by students at the school who can share their own experiences. Most schools will also arrange a private visit, if necessary. Remember, the school will be painting itself in the best light but a tour will give parents a feel for its heartbeat.
University of South Australia Adjunct Associate Professor Judith Gill says it’s also important to “get beyond the school gates and the carefully crafted presentations in the school hand books”.
“Ask about school issues seen as problems by students and teachers,” she says.
To get a less-scripted picture, reach out to families at the school. Is there an old scholars’ association that can share insights? Their existence could be a good indication of whether a school is fondly regarded by past students, Professor Gill says.
Most schools also offer virtual tours on their websites, says Danielle Driver, director of online resource Private Schools Guide, which helps parents choose a school for their children.
“Hands down the most powerful tool a parent has is word of mouth … but school tours, open days and experience days are incredibly important,” she says.
“Even if a school ticks all of the boxes on paper, you cannot truly know if it’s the right fit for your child unless you experience it on some level for yourself. It’s just this knowing, it’s a feeling, it is hard to actually articulate.”
SIZE MATTERS
What role does class numbers and teacher-student ratios play in a child’s success?
Ms Driver says big classes are able to cater for the super-learners and those who struggle, but it’s the children who “fly under the radar” that may “slip through the cracks”.
“The kids who need that extra support are really well supported in those bigger classes and students who excel are really noticed but it’s the kids in between that don’t get quite as much attention,” she says.
“In every case, smaller classes would result in a better outcome but that’s not always possible. But there are certainly some kids that just wouldn’t cope with bigger class sizes.”
Professor Gill says a great school is only as good as its teachers.
“I’d want to know what qualifications the teachers have … how long people have been teaching at the school because when there’s a lot of change happening, it disorients the school and the teachers,” she says.
IT’S IN THE NUMBERS
For some parents, they’re everything. Others think they’re an unfortunate obsession that are soon forgotten when school life is over. But there’s no doubt school results are important.
Students who want to progress to university after high school need support to get their best ATAR scores. And NAPLAN is an indicator of how a school is faring in relation to others. Ms Driver says there’s no “simple answer” about how much weight to give to that data.
“Our education system has put way too much pressure on our kids to pull off this number at the end of the year that makes them feel good or bad about themselves,” she says.
“I think schools can do it all, they can do really well in results and also be really nurturing and supportive of other pathways and those are the schools to look for.”
Ms Driver says those other pathways include gaining TAFE qualifications, starting trade apprenticeships and taking university subjects in Year 12 that would broaden options beyond school.
“If you’re looking for a school, you want it to have all the avenues, all the possibilities, all the help for kids to get where they want to go.”
Professor Gill says her idea of success is “a good, rounded personality who will be able to get through all the ups and downs”.
“School is about much more than how to pass exams and get good marks,” she says.
“I looked at a brochure for a school recently – a very nicely written brochure – and it said ‘one of our key features of what we offer the young people who come to study here is that they’re going to have fun’. And I thought, ‘good on you’.”
ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
Does the school have a broad subject choice all the way to Year 12 that caters for a child’s interests? Ms Driver says the answer to this question is critical.
“If they want to become a chemical engineer, they’re going to need to have chemistry and advanced maths to be able to go to university and pursue that career,” she says.
“If they want to pursue a sporting career, obviously they must have representative sports at the school. It always comes back to the child.”
She says parents can avoid a financial shock by asking what extra costs – such as compulsory contributions to the school’s building fund – that they will be expected to foot.
But the most critical question is whether the school aligns with a family’s values and expectations.
Mental health support was also seen as vital, with many schools having a psychologist on staff.
“It’s awesome to know that a school has that support for our kids,” she says.
GOOD SPORT
From sports to science clubs, debating to digital technology and music to machinery, extra and cocurricular activities are the sugar and spice of school.
Ms Driver says they are “critical for a student’s overall success” as a “whole person” who is a happy, well-rounded, connected and socially capable high-school graduate.
“Luckily for Australian families, our schools offer so many wonderful extra-curricular opportunities and there’s so many pathways to success,” she says.
“Most Australian schools have a program or activity to suit every child’s hopes and dreams.”
She says extra-curricular activities give students more opportunities to be a leader.
“Not every kid is going to stand a chance to become a captain or a prefect but there’s lots of kids that are more sports oriented and it gives them a chance to have a leadership role, which is amazing.”
Ms Driver says parents should also look for an openness from schools to accommodate the interests of students.
“There was a student at our school who wanted to go and study in Japan for a couple of months … and the school said ‘we don’t have an exchange program but, hey, let’s have a go and it became a thing, which is beautiful. As long as schools are open to conversations around it.”
VALUES ADDED
Religion is one of the hottest topics with parents on the live chat on Private Schools Guide’s website, Ms Driver says.
“Some families insist that faith and religion play a huge role in their child’s education and then on the other hand, there’s some parents who don’t mind at all but are happy for their children to embrace whatever faith or foundation a school has,” she said.
“But it’s really important as a parent before you enrol to have that conversation about religion and how much of a role it plays in their education.”
Does a school refuse to accept students who are not baptised or active members of a church? And for schools that accept non-religious families, what is required of those students during chapel or church services? Ms Driver says answers to these questions were “critical”.
In some church-based schools, students are required to study religion in Year 12, potentially limiting their subject choices. In others, religious studies are more secular and act as a study of morality, ethics and other religions.
“I think there is a case for explaining and talking about religions to high school students, but not in a way that’s trying to recruit,” says Professor Gill.
Modern agenda-setting topics such as climate change, gender equality and LGBTIQ issues were also important to explore, Professor Gill said. “It’s good to ask if such issues are discussed – and in what subject?” she said.
Ms Driver said parents should look for schools that address the challenges of society. “Ignorance is never a good idea when you’re dealing with young minds,” she said.
BRIGHT FUTURE
Professor Gill says it’s important to ask about a school’s policy on technology and artificial intelligence. “One primary principal told me a few years back when we were discussing computers ‘Oh, I wish they would just go away!’,” she says. “How could an educator show such ignorance and uninterest?”
Ms Driver says future-proofing – or at least trying to keep up with ever-evolving technology – is paramount. “It can’t be ignored, it needs to be integrated,” she says. “You don’t want to be the child sharpening their pencil while everyone else has already got 15 essays written. But you also need to check that schools have systems to ensure that a student’s work is their own.”
HOW TO AVOID RED FLAGS
Insisting that there is no bullying on school grounds is a huge red flag, says Professor Gill. The better answer would be how it tackles bullying, with a progressive and comprehensive approach.
“If there is an immediate denial of bullying, then I’m afraid,” she says.
A related red flag was schools that do not ban mobile phones, which could be a “deal breaker”, says Ms Driver.
“I just think that for me that would indicate that they’re not really paying attention and aware of what sort of a distraction phones could cause,” she says.
Professor Gill offered a few other hints: “I think the question about how often the staff is changed, how much rollover is important because a lot of changes create red flags,” she said. “Good maths teachers are to be preserved like in bottles because they’re so important and so rare.”
AVOID THIS BIG MISTAKE
Don’t go with the flow when it comes to choosing a school, warns Ms Driver. She says many parents are tempted to go with a “popular” pick rather than finding a perfect fit for their child. “We see it all the time, parents choose a school because everyone else is going there or it’s the ‘it’ school,” she says. “Just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it’s going to have a good outcome. It might be huge with all the facilities but your child needs something smaller.”
She says another furphy is the more expensive a school, the better the choice. “Every school is different and every child is different,” she says.
“The more money spent doesn’t guarantee a good outcome. I would say the most obvious factors for parents are location and cost, for obvious reasons. But because every child is unique and every school is unique, the wish for parents varies greatly.
“With so many options available, there’s almost always a school that’s a perfect fit.”
WHEN TO ACT
Ms Driver says one of the “smartest” things parents can do is to put their child’s name down at a potential school when they are just toddlers or preschoolers.
“If you think it’s too soon, think again. The process can’t start soon enough,” she says.
“The best schools fill up fast and you don’t want to find yourself on a waiting list because it’s such a great unknown, not having surety about where a child is going to school.”
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Originally published as How to choose the best private school for your child
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