School decile rating???

[Hannah]

Can anyone tell me what is meant by a school decile rating please. I have seen it referred to on the site before but can't find the thread i saw it mentioned in.
Thanks!
Hannah

[Carol]

Hi Hannah
The decile rating is meant to represent a reflection of the income of a selection of residents in the school's catchment area.
Decile 1 represents lowest income.
Decile 10 represents highest income.

The school is then funded in proportion to its decile rating - Decile 1 schools getting the highest level of funding and Decile 10 schools getting the lowest funding per pupil.

This is the simplest way I can put it...hope that helps.

Carol

[chips]

A low decile rating does not necessarly mean a poor school either.! So don't write them off before checking them out.
Good luck

[Carol]

I would recommend that you visit all schools in the area you settle in.
What is considered a "good school" to one set of parents is not necessarily what another family are looking for at all.
And no - the decile rating doesnt tell you a lot about the philosophy of the school - you need to talk to the Principal for that.

Even the ERO reports can be misleading in some cases.........

The only sure way to check out a school is to go and visit it.

[louron]

Thats cleared up something that I'd been wondering about with regard to decile ratings, I knew they were linked to funding but wasn't sure if they were any indicator of performance, its good to know that they're not.
Forgive me if I'm being a bit dense but any tips about what to look for when looking around schools would be helpful. I realise a lot will probably be down to gut feeling and what our children think but any tips would be welcome.
Thank you.

Carol- I tried to pm you a while back about the attitude in NZ schools to kids with ASD type problems but am assuming you never got it -again any insider info would be most welcome. Cheers.

[Carol]

Forgive me if I'm being a bit dense but any tips about what to look for when looking around schools would be helpful. I realise a lot will probably be down to gut feeling and what our children think but any tips would be welcome.


Carol- I tried to pm you a while back about the attitude in NZ schools to kids with ASD type problems but am assuming you never got it -again any insider info would be most welcome. Cheers.

Sorry Louron.....no I can't recall getting a pm.
Perhaps it is floating in cyberspace somewhere.......

Trust your gut instinct.
What YOU want for your child will ultimately be what determines the school you choose.
What your child wants could be similar but not necessarily appropriate!

Some things I personally would look for though.....

Polite, friendly, confident, children in the school who are happy to say "Good Morning" to you and stand back to let you through doors.
We have this happening now at our school but believe me - it takes a LOT of consistent work!

Goals displayed with work around the classrooms. Some sort of statement written by the teacher (usually) about what the displayed work was aiming for.
Sometimes this will take the form of "W.A.L.T.s" and W.I.L.F.s" which stand for "We Are Learning To" and "What I'm Looking For" statements.

Bright fresh current displays.

Computers being used - not necessarily every minute of the day - but they ARE an essential tool in the classroom now. (Or they should be)
Screensavers going in every classroom would ring alarm bells to me!

My own classroom is never really tidy - but there is evidence of kids' thinking everywhere. "Wonderings" KWL charts, Mindmaps, and Brainstorms are the sorts of things I'm talking about.
Evidence of some method ofthinking skills e.g. De Bonos hats, Multiple Intelligences, Costa's Habits of Mind etc etc - on display and being used in books.

Workbooks marked and up to date with positive comments and "Where to next" statements in books.

Children's work EVERYWHERE.
A literacy and numeracy "rich" environment.

Just a few things I would be looking for if I was looking for another school.

ASD, ADD, ADHD, Gifted programmes/Special Needs etc are individual to the school.
You need to ask the principal specifically what they are doing for children in these categories.
But be aware this COULD depend on the funding the school has available to it.
For severe needs - there is a funding system called ORRs funding - we have one boy with autism who has had a successful application. BUT - 9 out of 10 are turned down because there is only a small pool of money - success depends greatly on "severity" and to be honest - what I call severe and what they call severe are two completely different things!

Hope that helps.........
Carol :-)

[Debbie P.]

One thing you could do before you get there is look at the school's website.

Carol mentioned a site on here before : www.tki.org.nz, and you can search for schools by area etc and get a list of schools with their addresses and websites. Might give you some idea? I would be looking at things like indications of extra curricular activities such as involvement in sports outside school, putting on performances etc.

Also, find out how big the school is - would your children like to be in a big school with lots of kids to make friends with or would they feel safer in a school with fewer kids and more attention.

And the websites might give info like school rules etc, which would give you an idea of the school ethos (is that a word?).

Obviously, much better to visit them, but this might give you some idea before you get there!

Debbie

[louron]

Carol/Debbie P,
Thanks very much for the great advice,just the sort of stuff I needed to know. I will bear all of this in mind and will check out the website you mention Debbie.
Thanks again,
Sian

[jo b]

De bono's hats they don't use that in the Uk do they Carol

jo

[Carol]

I dont know Jo......... I would guess they do - but I havent had anything to do with schools in the UK for 9 years now....

Does anyone in the UK know?
C