Recommendations for good primary schools?

[Dbrskh]

Hello all, new to having kids. New to London (and the UK for the last 4 years). Our daughter is coming up for 3 next month and we're still trying to find her a nursery/preschool but also need to figure our the whole school situation since she'll be starting reception next year. We live near Dulwich Hospital, school recommendations please? What should we be looking for? What should we watch out for? Etc. Any and all suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Saffron]

You can use the council webpages to help look for state primary schools. Family Information Services also have a lot of useful info.

http://www.2.southwark.gov.uk/info/200017/children_and_families/545/family_information_service

If you're looking at private schools, the independent schools show might be useful. http://schoolsshow.co.uk/

Many schools will be having open days at some point in the autumn. You probably need to check individual school webpages for more info.

School websites can also tell you a lot about the character of the school. For example, dress code, clubs, newsletters, forms, calendar, etc.

You can look at Ofsted reports online, but I wouldn't put excessive emphasis on them. A school can be "excellent" by Ofsted standards, but not a good fit individually for a particular child or family. Or, a school can be under-performing by Ofsted standards, but still offer a good fit personally. You'd need to look at where/ why they're under-performing, if there was a particular concern.

Hope that helps in general, and maybe you'll get more specific feedback from Forumites in your neighbourhood. xx

[Amanda1979]

Our son has attended Little Stars (part of Bessemer campus) since he was two and loves it. He is moving to Bessemer nursery school from September and we are hoping he will go on to Reception there as we hear nice things about Bessemer. If you are near Dulwich Hospital you are likely to be in their catchment area.