Selina Boyd knows what it feels like to be an international school parent.
Uprooted from the UK in 2009 because of her husband鈥檚 job, she found herself plunged into life many thousands of miles from home, in Singapore.
Amid the chaos of relocation, the priority was on finding schools for their three primary-aged children.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always a pretty stressful time, you鈥檙e juggling so many balls, you just want to get all your ducks in a row,鈥 she says.
After a two-year stint in East Asia turned into seven, the family returned to the UK, but were pinged back to Singapore not long after. There was yet more school-hunting in a sector they had come to love: 鈥淲e鈥檇 seen all the benefits of an international education,鈥 she says.
There is a huge amount of choice for parents.
Along with her marketing and communications background, it’s perhaps no surprise then that Boyd has, for the past two and a half years, been working as the international editor of .
While the UK guide, famed for its cheeky asides and parental insights, has been a prominent brand for over 40 years, the international edition has been running quietly 鈥渋n the background鈥 for the past 20, she says.
It currently carries around 280 reviews of English-medium and bilingual schools in more than 30 countries and Boyd has the task of overseeing a global team of independent reviewers.
There is a wide variety of schools from big names such as and to schools with no British connection such as .
Elsewhere, they have reviewed the and .
But now, as international education booms, she is keen for her team 鈥 who all live near to the schools they review 鈥 to include more schools and ensure that parents know what they have to offer.
She says: 鈥淚鈥檓 a really big fan of international schools and international education on a personal and a professional level, but just like in the UK there are good schools, great schools and not so great schools.”
It’s really important that the leader who sets the tone and the agenda is visible to parents.
The market is now flooded with schools resulting in 鈥渁 huge amount of choice for parents鈥 and higher standards generally. But this, she says, means it’s also getting 鈥渉arder and harder鈥 for parents to be able to say which are best for their children.
But what, exactly, are globally mobile international families looking for?
In her second role as an international schools consultant at the guide, she has learnt not to prejudge based on nationality, for example. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very easy to make assumptions about certain types of people鈥ut families are looking for schools for really individual reasons,鈥 she says.
In the tumult of an international move, all parents want their children to be happy, with close attention paid to their wellbeing, she says. But there are some other overarching themes that tend to make a family choose one school over another 鈥 and not every school puts enough emphasis on them, she says.
Visibility of leadership is key. She says: 鈥淚t sounds really obvious鈥f course parents want to know who the school head is.鈥
Parents don鈥檛 necessarily have a ready-made support network.
But chief executives, directors and other strategic leaders looking after several sub-sections can sometimes be shy about coming forward 鈥 preferring to delegate to heads of schools, she says.
鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to think that parents only want to know who is the head of the senior school, or whatever, but actually that person that sits right at the top, the person who really sets the tone and the agenda 鈥 being visible in that role is really important.鈥
She bemoans her own first experience in Singapore, when they 鈥渃ouldn鈥檛 find out anything鈥 about the person in the top role of a school. 鈥淭hey were tucked away in their office,鈥 she says. Things are changing, she says, but not all schools are demonstrating that they understand this.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about making that person visible both on a day-to-day basis in the school and in terms of prospective parents coming in and knowing who the person and the character is behind that role… families want to be able to relate to that person鈥t鈥檚 still a very human role.鈥
Demonstrating, from the very start, a strong sense of community, is also vital for parents, she says. In conversations with globally mobile families, Boyd and her team often ask why they chose their particular school: 鈥淚t鈥檚 remarkable how many times families say to us ‘from the moment we first spoke to them we felt that they cared. We felt that we belonged here’.鈥
鈥淪ome schools, right from that first point of contact, there鈥檚 a sense of working to support you,” she says.
Several schools Boyd has spoken to have said that the top enquiry on the first day of term from parents is whether they can have the name of a local doctor.
鈥淚t鈥檚 that sense that the school is supporting more than just the education of the child, they don鈥檛 necessarily have a ready-made support network.鈥
One area where international schools are really improving, she says, is embracing 鈥渉olistic鈥 education, looking beyond the academic, as is already traditional in UK schools.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 very exciting to see that being picked up by international schools in the last five to 10 years.鈥
She cites increased take-up of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme and at IB as evidence of this move towards international schools focusing more on 鈥渟ofter skills鈥 in addition to academics.
We鈥檙e not going in as an accreditation or inspection agency. We鈥檙e not ranking or rating.
So it鈥檚 clear Boyd and her team are bubbling with insights into the market and individual schools- and what parents want. But what is the review process actually like for a school and its staff? Are schools who allow the Good Schools Guide in risking their reputations in any way?
She is clear about several things: 鈥淲e鈥檙e not going in as an accreditation or inspection agency. We鈥檙e not ranking, we鈥檙e not rating. What means good to one family can be completely different to what means good to another family.”
Treat us exactly as you would any prospective parent.
鈥淭he purpose of our reviews is to just understand what the character and the spirit of the school is, beyond the marketing.鈥
And if your school is offered a review, it means the guide already 鈥渁pproves鈥 you, she says.
She adds: 鈥淚 encourage schools to treat us exactly as you would any prospective parent coming in. A school visit is really important, a meeting with the head of school is absolutely vital.鈥
Schools often find the process helpful, she says, with the anonymised parental views offering them insights they might not have had before.
But she does not assume schools know what the guide is 鈥 even though she says she is often 鈥渁mazed鈥 at recognition levels for the brand internationally. Neither are they trying to 鈥渢ake on鈥 school comparison sites around the world.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just one part of that jigsaw鈥, she says.
One thing is certain 鈥 they will give a unique, and independent, take on your school.
