What to look for in a first class

A first class is usually framed as a test of whether your child likes the activity. It's at least as much a test of whether the person running it is any good, and that's the easier thing to judge from the side of the room.

The quick answer

• Watch the teacher, not your child. Your child is nervous; the teacher is doing the job they'll do every week.
• Read the class page first. What it covers, who teaches it, and what it expects are all there.
• Before a class starts, you can withdraw freely. Once it has started, you ask the business, and they answer.

Watch the teacher

Your child is in a new room with people they don't know. What they do in the first forty minutes tells you very little. The teacher, meanwhile, is showing you exactly how the term will go.

• Do they learn names? Not all of them, but some, and quickly.
• What happens when a child gets it wrong? This is the single most useful thing you'll see all session.
• Is every child doing something? Or are four children active and six waiting in line?
• Do they finish on time? A class that habitually overruns was planned optimistically.

Read the class page first

On Befundo, the class page shows its Course content: what it covers, module by module, and how much has been covered so far. It also shows who teaches it, where it runs, and the price or "Price on request".

Ask about the second month

Anybody can run a good first session. Ask what week six looks like, and what happens when a child falls behind. Providers who've thought about it answer immediately, because they've had to.

Give it more than one go

If it's at all borderline, go twice. A child who hated the first session and loved the third is common enough that one data point is close to useless.

If it isn't right

Registering isn't a trap. Until the class's first meeting starts, you can withdraw from the class page and the place goes straight away. Once it has started, you press Ask to withdraw and the business agrees or keeps the place.

Find one to try

Open Find classes, read a class's page, and register the child it's for.