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It’s never too early to start making future plans for your child’s education. Even if your child is still a toddler, it won’t be long before they start school and there will be a lot of decisions to consider. Below are just some of the questions to ask yourself when planning your child’s future education.
Which school will your child go to?
Deciding which school your child should go to is an important first step. There are lots of things to consider when choosing a school. Will you choose a public or a private school? Will it be a local school? If not, will you have to relocate to be within the catchment area? Alternatively, will you homeschool your child?
It’s important to do your research early. If you’re planning to stay local, but aren’t sure which school to choose, you may want to look into the reputation of schools in your area and the average grades. School open days are always worth attending to get a feel for the school. If you’re choosing a high school, your child will be of an age where they deserve a say in where they go.
Does your child need learning support?
If your child has learning difficulties of any kind, it could be worth considering whether they need special learning support. Many mainstream schools will have learning support assistants on the premises to help children within class if they need it. However, for some learning difficulties, you may feel that this is not enough and that your child may be better off attending a specialist school. Another option could be to homeschool your child and hire a specialist tutor to help you teach them.
This is something to plan early – such schools may have a limited number of places or may need to be privately funded. In some cases, there may be state funding that you can apply for.
Does your child need a computer?
More school work is now being done on a computer. At some point, you’ll have to consider whether to buy your child a laptop to help with their studies. This could be something that you need to save up for and you’ll need to weigh up the responsibility that comes with having a computer.
Generally speaking, most kids get a laptop when they are 12. Until this point, there’s little need to own a computer. It’s worth putting in place parental controls to limit access to certain content. Schools are now using screen monitoring software in hybrid learning to make sure that kids are staying engaged with work and not playing games. This should serve as extra peace of mind when choosing to buy a laptop.
Will your child go to college?
If your child is likely to go to college, you may want to consider how you can plan ahead for this. Some parents save up a college fund so that their child doesn’t have to borrow as much money. This is something that you may want to start doing several years in advance.
