Middle School Open Day

Making the most of a school open day
School open days can help when you’re deciding which schools to apply to for your child.

What is a middle school open day?  
During the morning prospective parents and pupils can visit the department during a working day. At Acorn House you’ll be able to visit classrooms, and students will show you round and talk to you about how they learn and grow whilst they are in middle school.

You’ll be invited to hear a talk by the Headteacher and teachers. During the speech you’ll learn about our values and you should be able to get an idea of the middle school department academic focus and discipline policies. This could answer some questions you may already have. Some students from the different classes will introduce you to information that are considered useful for parents and their children. Prospective children, who will have made the request in the office in advance, will be invited to stay for the day and work in the department gaining a feeling of the life in the middle school dept.

When are open days held?
Open days usually happen between October and December, just before the end of first term.    At Acorn House we welcome prospective families and children on the 10th of December at 8.30 am.
This event is aimed at families looking for a school place for their child to start the following September.
But it’s a good idea to start looking round schools a year before this. You could come to the middle school dept. open day when your child is in Year 5, aged 9-10. Then you will revisit the schools with your child, during the autumn/winter in which you need to apply.

How is open day organised at Acorn House?
Acorn House Open day offers the opportunities for parents to talk to both staff and pupils. In the meantime it offers the opportunity to visit the site. Take your children with you. You need a child’s eye view as well as your own, and they’ll notice things you may miss.

Transition from Year 6 to Year 7
The change from Year 6 to Year 7 can be huge and it is a big jump for many children. Your child will meet and spend time with year 7 children for a day and they can directly ask them all about it.

Q & A

Here below you can find a list of questions we aim to answer during the time you will spend with us on the 18th of December:

• “What are we doing to improve progress?”
• “How will we strengthen children’s interest and passion for learning?”
• “What strategies have we got to ensure that children learn and achieve well? What are our intervention strategies?”
• “How is discipline handled?”
• “What are we doing with those youngsters who are underachieving?
• “Which results have we achieved during the first cycle of the middle school dept?”
• “What does the school do to help decide which school to chose at the end of middle school?”
• “Destination data – where are the children going at the end of the middle school cycle?”
• “How well did they settle in and how are they coping with the different system and work loads?”
• “What opportunities are planned for middle school students to be in contact with recent news and debating around current events?”
• “What school trips are available?”  
• “What is expected of my child with regard to homework?”                                                
• “How will my child be graded?”                                                                                           
• “Do new pupils have a mentor allocated to them?”                                             
• “What are the maximum amount of children in a class?”
• “How do you address children’s queries or problems?”                                                          

You are welcomed to make a personal follow-up visit to see the middle school department operating normally.