This guide gives you some guidance on how to go about finding your child a school. Choosing your preferred schools Your first task should be to gather as much information about the process as you can. The Department of Education is a good starting point. You also need to collect a list of all the possible schools in your area. You can find these in the Schoolsnet schools guide, or your LEA should produce a booklet giving details of schools in your area.
Academic performance is clearly one of the most important factors to take into account.
You can compare schools' academic performances by consulting the annual league tables from the Department of Education or from Ofsted, who can also give you details of any inspection it has made of the school. Although they can give you a useful starting point, examination results should not be your only yardstick. Schools with good academic results tend to be extremely popular but, even if your child is offered a place, it might not be the best school for him or her. A whole raft of other considerations should be considered, bearing in mind that your child will live with the consequences of the decision for the next few years. One of these might be the school's distance from your home.