Advice for Family Moving to Vancouver

Hi All,
We are a family with two young boys looking to move to Vancouver and wanted some advice on schools. We were looking at North Vancouver (ideally) or possibly further north in Squamish. I have looked at the Fraser Institute tables, but that is the only guide we have to the quality of schools. Everyone says the public schools are good but can anyone advise from experience how relevant the tables are - or are all the schools in North Van equally good? And does anyone have experience of the schools in Squamish? Also, I understand we have to have proof of residence before the children are accepted into the schools so does that mean we cannot apply for a place before we move?
We have done some research on getting residence permits, but does anyone know how long these take at the moment, how long in advance we need to apply, whether we should do it ourselves or pay for the services of a specialist? We will both be self-employed so are not sure if that will make things more difficult.
Thanks in advance for your help,
James