Selecting a Nursery School

Parents are the first teachers a child gets. So, it is the responsibility of the parents to imbibe the basic values in a child. This makes selecting the right school for the child all the more important, since the values taught in school should be in sync with those that the child learns at home apart, of course from receiving world class education.

Following are some of the points that parents should keep in mind while selecting a primary school for children.

Proximity

The School should be located close to the residence. Too much traveling at a young age might take a toll on the child. It requires a lot of effort to be regular in classes. Distance creates problem for both, children as well as parents.

Infrastructure

The facilities that a school provides should be at par with those required in today’s times. The school should have arrangements for clean and spacious classrooms, a playground, proper drinking water for children among other things.

Student Teacher Ratio

The ideal Student:Teacher is 15:1, in any case, it should not be more than 20:1 for nursery classes, and 35:1 for primary classes.
Pedagogy: Different schools have different styles of teaching. Prefer a school that follows an innovative, yet, useful way of teaching children, instead of rote learning. Children learn quickly when shown colourful images rather than black and white text, because an image can express things better than a thousand words.

Teachers

Teachers play an important role in a child’s life. Apart from parents, teachers are the main source of knowledge and values for children. It would be good if parents get some feedback about a particular teacher, maybe from a parent whose child has been taught by that teacher.

Extra Curricular Activities

There is no doubt that the extracurricular activities have an impact on a child’s life. A school should be equipped with indoor and outdoor game facilities, cycling, swimming, art classes, craft classes, music classes, dance classes and many other such activities can be added to this list, as it enhances the activity of the child. Physical education should be part of school curriculum.

Medical Facilities

Parents should also check whether the school has a full time Doctor or not. It is a factor overlooked by many parents, but is as important, if not more important than the extra-curricular activities.

Parent Teacher Communication

The role of communication in education is very important. Communication makes the education dynamic so that in case there is any flaw that needs to be ironed out, at home or in class, can be done so, in a smooth manner. It is a two way process in which teachers need to communicate with parents and, parents need to communicate with teachers. The process is all the more important in a nursery school.