Primary vs secondary outstanding ofsted

[buttonmoon78]

Oh dear...

Currently dc1 goes to 'good' high school, dc2&3 go to 'outstanding' primary. High school is still improving (having been in special measures about 5 years ago).

But... we're thinking of moving. The village has an 'outstanding' high school but the primary is only 'satisfactory'.

Is this a big issue? Dc2 has just started Y6 so would be in high school before v much longer but dc3 is only in nursery so whole primary education ahead of him.

I'm so confused about what to do!

Am posting this in primary & secondary as well to maximise traffic!

[mnistooaddictive]

The difference between good and outstanding can be very small. You can't tell without seeing the school. I am sending my dc to an out of catchment good rather than a catchment outstanding due to the feel of the school and the differences being ones we do not feel are important.

[buttonmoon78]

Thank you. The high school is not what bothers me though. It's the difference between our current outstanding school and the potential satisfactory school.

[lostFeelings]

I think the difference between good and outstanding is huge - if you look at the school which just scrapped through to be good and and ooutstanding.

[mummytime]

Look at the school and draw your own conclusions. Are there other schools they could be going to? Why is the school just satisfactory? What are they doing about it?

[buttonmoon78]

I don't know - this is all very much up in the air at the moment. We're just going through the process of putting the house on the market etc so it's just a what if really.

The school is in the village ie less than 1/2 a mile away whereas anywhere else would require a drive. As in they're a lot further and not just more than 1/2 mile!

I guess we need to sort our house out first then go and see the schools before we decide if we want to move to that village.

[Kez100]

Need to also look at dates of the inspection. An old outstanding may now only achieve a good anyway. Also exam results or a change of Head can mean a school varies a great deal in between inspections anyway.

I would never go only on the inspection wording. Visit the school and look at present results, meet the Head if you can, meet students if you can and ask them what they think. Consider the curriculum on offer - where does your child fits in best.

[Jumal]

Read the reports carefully rather than just go with the grade. Our local primary was downgraded to a level 2 because the teaching was geared to the more able children so if you have an able child that may be a good school for you or vice versa.

[squibble]

We moved our dc from an outstanding primary to a satisfactory one. If there had been any way at all of commuting back to the first primary, we would have done that - is that an option for you at all?

Basically, we felt that where we lived shouldn't be dictated by the primary school. And, let's face it, if we're living in an area, it will be our neighbours' children at the local school. It was, after all, a "nice" area - surely the local school couldn't be that bad. That was our reasoning, anyway.

It was a shock.

The difference, certainly in this instance, between outstanding and satisfactory was .... well, let's just say it was quite something. And the really interesting thing is that if a school is "satisfactory" there is no real pressure on them to change, unlike "inadequate".

It was not great. The teaching was lacklustre, if not moribund, the curriculum was dry bread, and there was no sense of pastoral cohesion. Facilities and add-ons were minimal. My older one switched off learning completely, my younger never started.

That, of course, may not be the case with your school. It may be fine. But do be careful.

There is also something peculiarly "Alice Through the Looking Glass" about having your dc in a "satisfactory" school, after you've had them in a, perhaps more "ambitious", or "organised" school, in that you, and you alone, will be aware of the new school's slightly desultory quality, whilst all around you are singing its praises. And you may have to watch your, previously sparky, engaged dc completely turn against school.

That said, I would still say you shouldn't let a school determine where you, as a family, wish to live. It's a tricky one.