Thursday 7 December 2017

School search: Aspiration versus Reality

At the heart of an education assessment lies the creative tension – common in many aspects of life – of what a family want, their “aspirations”, and what is actually feasible on the ground, the “reality”.

Aspiration is sometimes viewed as a bad thing, certainly in the state sector, but I definitely see it as a positive – parents wanting the best for their children.

We want the circles Aspiration and Reality to overlap as much as possible – the wider the overlap grows the more school choices a family will have to work from.

There are many factors that impact on the overlap – global mobility policies, for example funding of independent school fees, would be one.

Yet there are other factors that can be manageable with good guidance and advice, some out of the family’s control “on the ground” , others within their “family influence”.

Over the next few weeks we will take a look at these factors and how to mitigate and adapt.