Key Takeaways
Summary
22 items · 20–35 minutes per school visit
Why Open Day Preparation Makes the Difference
Choosing a primary school is one of the most consequential decisions a family makes in the early years, yet many parents leave open days having absorbed little beyond a glossy tour and a warm handshake. The schools themselves are practiced at presenting well. Your job is to look past the display boards.
Before you visit, it helps to understand the structural differences between school types — whether a school is a local-authority maintained school, an academy, or an independent — because those differences affect governance, curriculum flexibility, and who ultimately answers for outcomes. Our guide to school types explains those distinctions clearly and will sharpen the questions you bring on the day.
The checklist below is organised into logical stages of a visit. Not every question will apply to every family — use your child's specific needs to decide which groups deserve the most attention.
Notepad or note-taking app
Record answers and impressions during and immediately after each visit before memory fades.
School's most recent inspection report
Provides an independent baseline on quality and any areas under development — available from the relevant national inspectorate's public website.
School prospectus and website
Review the school's stated values, curriculum approach, and SEND policy before arriving so you can probe beyond the marketing language.
List of your priority questions
Keeps you focused during a busy tour and ensures you do not leave without the answers that matter most to your family.
The Open Day Questions Checklist
Work through these groups in the order that suits your visit. Flag any item where the school's answer feels vague or deflected — that pattern matters too.
Before You Arrive
Teaching and Learning
Inclusion and Wellbeing
Staff and Leadership
Practical Logistics
School Culture and Community
How a School Handles Difficult Questions Matters
If a staff member deflects, gives evasive answers, or appears uncomfortable when you ask about SEND provision, behaviour incidents, or staff turnover, treat that as meaningful information. A school with a genuinely open culture will welcome honest questions. Reluctance to engage transparently is itself a signal worth noting before you make your decision.
How to Use What You Learn
Write brief notes immediately after each visit — memory degrades quickly when you are juggling multiple schools. Compare schools on the questions that matter most to your child rather than on headline metrics alone. Inspection ratings and attainment data are useful context, but they are snapshots; staff culture, inclusion practice, and communication style shape the daily experience.
If your child has identified learning needs, ask each school directly how they fund and staff their Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision. Vague answers here warrant follow-up before any decisions are made. Understanding how primary assessments work — from the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check to Key Stage 2 SATs — will also help you evaluate what a school says about progress. Our plain-English guide to primary assessments walks through each measure and what it actually tells you.
Finally, remember that primary school is not the end of the road. The habits, confidence, and love of learning your child builds there will carry them into secondary. Our article on the transition from primary to secondary school outlines what families can do now to prepare for that eventual step.
Don't Rely on League Tables Alone
Published attainment data and rankings reflect a school's average outcomes at a point in time, and they can be heavily influenced by the prior attainment of the intake rather than the quality of teaching. Use data as one input among many, not as a deciding factor on its own.