How to choose the best private school in Barbados for your child

The project or educational methodologies are one of the most popular issues when it comes to deciding, but there are other criteria that demand attention.

Four days ago you changed diapers and, without even barely noticing, you are preparing the backpack for your little one to face on the first day of school. The feelings are intermingled in a combination of nostalgia and emotion that, those who keep in memory the memory of that first school day, will live as if, suddenly, they returned to the most tender childhood. And it is that the adventure is shared. Parents and children are accomplices in this journey, but, above all, as regards the choice of school, the former play a more important role.

Choosing one of the best private schools in Barbados for our children is a fundamental decision in our role as parents. The school will become their second home and therefore will be an important place not only at the level of academic training but also training in human values. Today there are thousands of educational centers to send our children and therefore the work of selection is not simple. It is important to establish criteria to reduce the search and to focus on a few options until we find the one that best meets our expectations.

Public or private education? Languages or new technologies? With or without a dining room? Religious or lay? Surely if at some point you have faced the task of choosing a school for your children (or the prospect of doing so is seen on the horizon) you will recognize yourself in these and many other issues. How to know if you have made the right choice? What criteria should prevail when choosing the children's school? The decision is as particular as it is complicated, although there are some keys that can help you to tip the balance towards one or another option.

1. The educational project

Gone are the years in which the classes in the schools were limited to a masterful explanation before an audience with ratios that today would scandalize any teacher. Innovation has crept into the classroom and educational models are so varied that, when choosing a school, you can feel overwhelmed. Work for projects? Bilingual education? Literacy? The possibilities are immense and it is convenient to know them to know which one fits best with your philosophy and the training you want for your children. Make sure that the educational project that starts in children has continuity in primary or meet the teaching team of the center to corroborate that it is a gear that works perfectly, also inspire confidence.

2. Home and school: a harmonious relationship

The coherence will be a factor to take into account when choosing the school for your children. Beyond the educational project, keep in mind that the school is, together with the home, one of the basic pillars of the training of the little ones and, consequently, both scenarios should offer your child a similar, or at least complementary, vision. world. For example, it does not make much sense to opt for a religious center if the family is secular or convinced by a private school if the defense of the public is a priority in the home.

Do they work emotional intelligence, apply innovative methodologies, exchange with other centers, follow the new educational trends? There are some issues that can help you identify the values of the school to make the decision easier.

3. The facilities.

Without falling into the error of becoming obscured by the facilities without delving into the educational project or the methodologies used in the center, the truth is that we must value the importance of educational spaces. It is not only that the different classrooms must respond to the needs of the students in terms of development but, as many experts note, the physical spaces affect relationships, learning, and creativity, especially at school.

Knowing if the school has an adapted psychomotor classroom, a music class, a library or classroom of new technologies as well as appropriate sports facilities is interesting when choosing the school for your children.

4. Attention to diversity

Another key you can take into account is how diversity is served. Knowing the degree of integration offered by the educational center through the verification of whether or not there is a TEA classroom, if there is room in the classrooms for students with functional diversity or if the center has support will give you clues in this regard. Betting on a center where diversity is present is a way of educating in respect for integration and in values such as tolerance, coexistence or collaboration.

 

5. Much more than an educational center

A IB Education school has a lot to offer both the children and the families themselves and it does not hurt to keep it in mind when choosing. In addition to how you work in the classes or the philosophy of the center itself, questions such as whether you have a dining room or not, the proximity to the center (which will facilitate the socialization of your children in the future), the extracurricular activities that are offered, the role of the AMPA and the involvement of the parents or the profile of the students can help you clarify which school is the most appropriate for your child.

From the analysis and assessment of the above criteria, you can get a more or less clear idea of what type of center you are looking for and, consequently, make the choice easier. However, do not miss the opportunity to visit different cabbages, tour their classrooms in the company of those who will be teachers of your children and even parents who, like you, seek the best alternative. Explore, know, ask and draw your conclusions because you know what? Who knows better the needs of your children and can decide on their education is you.