How early did you start checking out local government schools?
Did you go to open days earlier than the year before you child was going to go to school?

I was out to dinner a couple of weeks ago, and among the other dinner guests were a Kindergarten teacher, a Primary Teacher, and a recently retired Primary Principal, all work/ed in our local area.

The Kindergarten teacher asked me where I was sending my 18month old to school, and had I been to any open days? Other than Private schools (of which there are 2 options) there are a lot of Government and Religious schools and none of them have waiting lists, infact you are not allowed to apply until your child is in Kindergarten.

They started talking about which of the government schools was the best, and when the open days were.

I know these people's knowledge is a valuable resource to have, and I will ask their opinion when the time comes, but why would I go to state school open days, won't the schools and staff etc change over the next 3 years?

I know the schools that were "good" or "bad" when I went to primary school have vastly changed now, and some are the exact opposite of what they were.

I felt like I was put on the spot! I know with private schools you can have your name put down at birth, and it can be advisable, but none of these schools fall into that category.