In this publication we will share with you practical tips on how to find the best schools for your child/children in London, England.

Firstly, you will need to choose between a state or private school. A state school is a school free of charge, funded by the government. A private school charges fees, and is run independently, which means they don't have to follow the National Curriculum strictly and they have their own admissions criteria.

If your choice is to apply for a state school, the first thing you must consider is the area where you and your family will be living.

In order to apply for a place in a state school, you need to live within a certain distance of the school you wish to apply for. The mapped area around a school, which determines the families/children entitled to have a place at that school, is called the 'Catchment Area'. To prove that you live within the school's catchment area, you will be required to show prove of your address (which is usually a utility bill or council tax).

Once this first decision has been made, you can move on to the next stage of choosing a school for your child/children.

This next stage involves deciding if you would like a Catholic, a Church of England, or a non-denominational school (or non-faith school).

There are very good and average schools in all three of these categories.

The standard of education in England is regulated by Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills). Ofsted inspects services providing education and skills for learners of all ages in England - nurseries, schools, and independent professionals who care for children, such as child-minders - ensuring that all organisations offer services of a high standard for children and students.

Every week, Ofsted carries out hundreds of inspections and regulatory visits throughout England and publishes the results online. Ofsted reports directly to Parliament and are independent and impartial.

Before shortlisting potential schools for your child/children, it is important to check how each school has been rated by Ofstead: outstanding, good, (bearing in mind that these classifications don't exclusively measure how strong a school is from the academic achievements' point of view, but they also look at the school's inclusion, diversity, provision of additional support, etc ... This extensive topic will be the subject of another post!)

Next on the process of choosing the right school, is the visit to the school(s) site, in order to see the space, the facilities, to meet all the school staff and the head teacher. This is the time to feel with your heart if that is the school you are looking for!

During your visit to the school, you can also get a lot of information about their curriculum, rules, values, wrap around care (after school clubs), admissions criteria, etc. They may be even able to inform you if there are places for your child/children, or how long the waiting list is, if you decide to wait for a place to become available.

Finding a school that you feel you can trust to take care of your most valuable asset (your little one(s)!) is not an easy mission; but with the right support, talking to people and asking questions, and very importantly visiting the school, you will get there!

And Home to Home is here to help you through this journey, whenever you need.