What questions to ask when visiting a school

What types of questions should be asked when visiting a school when I’ve not yet applied and I’m looking specutively

Talk to students if you can the state of the toilets tells a story.

That’s quite an odd one

What types of questions should be asked when visiting a school when I’ve not yet applied and I’m looking specutively

Hi @w678,
First of all, it is important, that you do your homework before visiting the school- have a good look on their website so you have an idea about their ethos, facilities etc. It might also be a good idea to look at their last OfSTED report so you understand their strengths and weaknesses and it also might explains some of their policies and priorities. It will also shows that you are genuinely interested to train there, if you demonstrate a bit of knowledge about the school.
During your visit, you might be keen to meet the department/faculty if you are to train a secondary school- ask questions about who will be your mentor, how often will you meet them on a weekly basis and their expectations about their trainees, dress code, opportunities to work with certain pupils (SEND, EAL...) , opportunities to participate to the wider life of the schools, etc.
If you wish to get further guidance on short-listing your course providers, register to Get into Teaching to get a teaching adviser- it is a free service and all our advisers are experienced teachers who can support you with your application.
I hope this helps.
Good luck!
Laure

You need to look at letters home - OFSTED reports can be 10+ years out of date and recent ones tell you very little they are so brief.

@Muttley79
I do agree with you that they are indeed very succinct nowadays- however, they do provide interesting information about the make-up of the school and their priorities, in my humble opinion.
Laure