8.1 School Visit Checklist: How to Judge a School in Jakarta with Clarity and Confidence
Choosing a school in Jakarta forces parents to work with two parallel realities: the educational substance they are trying to assess, and the logistical constraints of a city where access, traffic, and air quality shape the daily rhythm of family life. A school visit, when approached thoughtfully, is the most reliable way to distinguish surface-level polish from genuine educational depth. What follows is a guide designed to help parents use these visits well — not by arriving with a script of generic questions, but by understanding what to observe, what to probe, and how to interpret the subtleties of a school’s culture.
"Architecture reveals priorities: whether classrooms are arranged to support early-years movement, whether older pupils have quiet corners for independent study, whether specialist rooms... are central to the school’s life or awkwardly bolted on."
This is written with Jakarta’s international-school landscape in mind. The city contains a mixture of British, IB, American, Australian and hybrid schools, each with its own architectural logic, staffing profile and pedagogical assumptions. A well-structured visit allows parents to compare these environments with precision and avoid being swayed by facilities alone.
Preparing Before You Set Foot on Campus
The most efficient school visits begin before the car engine starts. In Jakarta this matters: a poorly timed journey distorts the rhythm of the visit and compresses discussions, especially if the tour is conducted between drop-off and morning assemblies. Parents who arrive having already received a curriculum outline, a sample timetable, and an explanation of the school’s assessment structure can use their visit to probe substance rather than collect basic facts.
Two documents are particularly useful to request in advance:
• a clear explanation of curriculum progression from early years to upper primary/middle school
• the school’s assessment framework (formal tests, benchmarking, reporting cycles)
These indicate how coherently the school views learning over time. A school unable to articulate its academic spine usually struggles to deliver consistency across year groups — a recurring issue in Jakarta where staff are drawn from many training systems.
The Physical Environment: Reading the Space Carefully
Parents often form their strongest early impressions within the first minutes on campus. These impressions are not trivial. Architecture reveals priorities: whether classrooms are arranged to support early-years movement, whether older pupils have quiet corners for independent study, whether specialist rooms (science labs, art studios, music suites) are central to the school’s life or awkwardly bolted on.
"Five minutes in a classroom tell parents more than an hour of PowerPoint. Strong teaching reveals itself in the precision of explanation, the structure of the lesson, and the questions teachers ask."
Jakarta adds its own texture. Ventilation matters. The best schools think carefully about how air-conditioning, natural airflow and shaded outdoor space combine to support learning. Flood mitigation is another local variable: raised walkways, landscaping decisions and drainage patterns offer subtle clues about long-term planning. Outdoor areas deserve particular attention. Some campuses rely heavily on indoor movement; others create sheltered outdoor spaces where lessons can shift outside without exposing children to excessive heat or poor air quality.
Parents of early-years children should pay attention to how classrooms connect to outdoor areas. A cramped patch of artificial turf next to a busy road says something different from a secure garden designed for exploration, messy play and calm transitions.
Classrooms: The Most Revealing Five Minutes of the Visit
Five minutes in a classroom tell parents more than an hour of PowerPoint. Strong teaching reveals itself in the precision of explanation, the structure of the lesson, and the questions teachers ask. Parents should watch how pupils respond to instructions: do they know what to do next, and do they do it quickly? Independence is observable — children who move between tasks smoothly, who fetch materials without fuss, who listen to peers respectfully.
Written work on desks or walls also helps decode teaching quality. British-trained staff tend to emphasise neat handwriting, sequential writing tasks, and clear feedback comments. Mixed-international faculties vary more widely: some classrooms brim with colour but lack academic rigour; others feel subdued but purposeful. What matters is alignment — consistency of expectations across year groups, not isolated excellence.
In Jakarta, the presence of classroom assistants or additional adults is common. Parents should observe how they are used: whether they enable teaching or inadvertently dilute it by over-assisting children.
Interpreting Teacher Quality
Strong teachers tend to be self-assured without being performative. Their explanations are crisp; they anticipate misconceptions; they pace lessons with calm authority. Parents should ask about subject qualifications and professional development, but the deeper indicator lies in how teachers describe their curriculum. When teachers can explain why a concept is taught in a particular year, how it connects to earlier learning, and where it leads next, it signals the presence of a coherent academic culture.
In Jakarta this is uneven. Some schools recruit broadly — South African, Filipino, American, Malaysian, Australian, British teachers working under one roof — a model that can work if leadership is academically strong. Others lean more heavily on UK-trained staff, which tends to produce greater curricular coherence. What parents are assessing is not nationality, but intellectual alignment: does the school sound like one institution or several teaching philosophies loosely stitched together?
Curriculum and Assessment: Understanding the Academic Spine
Most parents ask about curriculum labels — British, IB, American — but far fewer probe the underlying structure. A strong school can explain how learning builds over time and how assessment is used to inform teaching. Parents should ask about the frequency of internal assessments, use of benchmarking (GL Education is common among British schools), and how data is used during planning meetings.
Jakarta’s better schools usually have structured assessment calendars, regular pupil progress meetings, and systems for identifying both underperformance and high attainment. Schools without this clarity rely heavily on teacher intuition, which can be excellent but is more variable.
Transitions between systems matter too. Families who may later move to Singapore, Dubai or the UK should understand how primary and middle-school curriculum choices affect secondary pathways. A good school can explain this in practical terms, not broad generalities.
Early Years: The Foundation That Shapes Everything Else
International parents often focus on upper-primary outcomes, but early-years quality shapes a child’s trajectory more than any later intervention. During the visit, parents should observe routines — handwashing, snack times, transitions, tidy-up sequences — because these reveal the culture of the classroom more clearly than posters or toys.
Good early-years teaching blends structured phonics, early mathematics, rich play, and strong language modelling. Parents should note how interaction happens: do adults speak to children at eye level? Do they model vocabulary? Do they encourage thinking and problem-solving, or simply supervise?
Jakarta early-years classrooms vary widely. Some are carefully designed environments with coherent planning and skilled staff; others rely heavily on assistants who keep children safe but do little to move learning forward. Outdoor provision also varies: a genuine outdoor classroom or garden is rare and worth noticing.
Learning Support and EAL: The Real Capacity Test
Learning support is where schools in Jakarta often show their true capacity. Parents should ask about staffing ratios, qualifications, diagnostic tools, and how interventions are delivered. The question is not simply whether support exists, but whether it is embedded in mainstream teaching.
Schools with meaningful capacity can describe how they monitor progress, how they adjust teaching, and how they collaborate with parents. They can also explain their admissions thresholds for complex needs — an area where transparency matters.
EAL provision is equally important. In an international city, bilingual or multilingual children are the norm. Parents should look for structured language support that is integrated into classroom life, not a sporadic withdrawal model with little coordination. When classroom teachers and EAL specialists speak the same pedagogical language, children progress faster.
Behaviour and Pastoral Life
Behaviour tells you how seriously a school takes itself. During a visit, parents should observe transitions, corridors, assemblies, and break times. Well-run schools demonstrate calm routines, respectful interactions, and clear expectations. They can also explain their pastoral structure: whether tutoring happens daily, how concerns are monitored, and how communication with parents works.
Jakarta’s climate introduces practical pastoral challenges: heat, rainstorms, and air-quality spikes mean children spend more time indoors than they might elsewhere. Parents should note how schools manage such constraints psychologically as well as physically.
Leadership and Institutional Coherence
Time with school leadership is crucial. Strong leaders speak with depth about curriculum, assessment, teacher recruitment and child development. They reference research, not slogans. They demonstrate a coherent philosophy rather than a menu of unrelated initiatives.
The most revealing questions concern staff retention, professional development, and how teachers collaborate. Jakarta’s international-school sector is competitive; leadership that takes teaching quality seriously usually has clear systems for recruitment, induction, and ongoing training. Parents should also ask about governance: who holds the school accountable, and how?
Practicalities: The Daily Rhythm of School Life
Once the educational substance is clear, parents can turn to the pragmatic questions that shape family routines. These include the length of the school day, transport arrangements, food provision, co-curricular expectations, homework policy and communication systems. In Jakarta, daily life is shaped by weather, traffic and air quality, so parents should ask how the school adapts during rainy season or AQI spikes.
Food provision varies widely. Some schools offer a sophisticated canteen system; others expect parents to send packed lunches. The quality of supervision during lunch often mirrors the culture of the school more broadly.
After the Visit: Building a Comparative Picture
The most reliable comparisons emerge when parents record observations systematically. After three or four visits, patterns emerge. Some schools excel in teaching quality but struggle with facilities; others have extensive grounds but little academic coherence. Parents should focus on the variables that matter long-term: teacher quality, curriculum structure, assessment clarity, stability of leadership and pastoral culture.
Facilities matter, but rarely as much as they appear to during a tour. It is better to choose the stronger teacher over the shinier building.
About the author
James, PGCE, QTS, BA (Hons)
James is an experienced early years leader with a warm, energetic approach to guiding both pupils and staff. As Head of Early Years, he champions play-based, child-centred learning rooted in strong relationships, careful observation and inclusive practice. His leadership blends pastoral insight with curriculum expertise, ensuring the early years phase provides a joyful, rigorous foundation for children’s learning.
FAQ: School Visit Checklist
How do I know if teaching quality is strong during a tour?
Observe explanations, pacing, pupil independence and the coherence of written work. Strong teaching is visible within minutes.
How We Teach: Evidence-Based Practice.
What should I look for in early-years classrooms?
Clear routines, purposeful play, structured phonics, and adults who model language well. Outdoor access is a strong differentiator in Jakarta.
Choosing an Early Years Programme.
How important is curriculum “labelling” when visiting schools?
Less than most assume. The real test is curriculum progression, assessment structure and teacher alignment.
British vs IB vs American Curricula.
What questions should I ask about assessment?
Frequency of internal assessments, use of benchmarking, and how teachers use data to plan.
Assessments in British Schools.
How do I evaluate learning support and EAL capacity?
Ask about staffing levels, diagnostic tools, intervention structure and coordination between class teachers and specialists.
Admissions Considerations for Parents with EAL Children.
What does good behaviour look like during a tour?
Calm transitions, quiet corridors, and children who clearly understand expectations.
What Makes a Strong Primary School.
What should I ask school leadership?
Teacher recruitment, staff retention, curriculum oversight, and governance. Leaders should speak substantively, not in slogans.
How to Evaluate an International School.
Do facilities matter as much as they appear to on a tour?
They matter, but less than teacher quality, curriculum coherence and leadership stability.
Outdoor Learning in an Urban Setting.
How should I compare schools after multiple visits?
Record observations systematically. Focus on long-term variables: teacher quality, assessment clarity, and pastoral culture.
How should Jakarta’s practical constraints influence my decision?
Consider traffic patterns, air quality, and weather conditions, and how the school adapts to them.