To have avoided the "outstanding" school?

For me, an outstanding school is one that nurtures all its pupils, not just those who find learning easy. The way a school deals with children with additional needs speaks much about its culture.

I think you should congratulate yourselves that you haven't simply relied on the reports you e read, that you’ve taken the trouble to read between the lines, that you’ve thought carefully about the ethos of the school and whether it fits your child. I think you’ve made the right decision.

I sent my children to two outstanding primaries. I made a mistake with the second. I should have chosen the good school that was a better fit. I did not actually understand what was outstanding about the school except it had some good equipment!

My child goes to an Outstanding school that is awful for anyone with SEN. They even try to discourage you from applying if you have SEN because they know they won't be able to provide adequate support. Not sure they're allowed to discourage prospective parents, but they do. So I really wouldn't apply for a school purely based on Ofsted. Your child will make new friends, that's what settling in sessions are for. Reception teachers are truly amazing and they'll make sure all the children form friendships.

Good luck, but I'm sure it'll all be fine!

This mirrors our situation. We decided on the "good" school over the faith "outstanding" school as we had a better feeling about it. Best. Decision. Ever.
Our dds school is the most caring supportive school, always doing clubs and events for the kids. The other school, I later found out, uses its faith selection to avoid any obvious nd kids. My friend who moved here mid school year was told they didn't have the facilities to take her autistic ds.
Trust your gut and not the offstead rating

We had very similar circumstances. One school rated Good and the other Outstanding, both within 15 minutes walk.

Friends were shocked we put the Good school as our first choice but it just had a nicer feel to it. DD1 is in Year 2 now and I've never regretted our decision for a moment. It's the right school for her.

Your gut instincts are right here. The 'good' school sounds better to me.

I've worked in various Ofsted categories and good ones are often the best balanced.

You've done absolutely the right thing OP and you won't regret it.

I did the same, albeit at secondary level. Went for the local (inclusive, diverse) comp instead of the outstanding faith school in our town. Friends thought I was mad. But the feel of the school was just right. My kids loved it there and look back with fond memories (they're young adults now).

My friend's son had a horrid time at the outstanding school. Bullying was rife but swept under the carpet. They were all about exam results. I was so relieved that my kids hadn't gone there.

Well done, trust your instincts, and all the best to your child for their new adventure!

Having worked at outstanding, good and RI schools I have to say I’d never prioritise an ofsted rating over your general feel of the school.
I was horrified at how some schools will do things like skew their SATS results, offer the difficult kids things like outdoor learning for much of the time ofsted visit, and so on. It’s a game to be played. Some play it better than others. Some schools are great, inclusive, offer a diverse curriculum, push boundaries. Some less so. But don’t think that those two things naturally correlate.
Go with how you feel.

One of mine went to a school that failed, due to debt 🙄

It sold off some of the field to create an amazing ITC suite in a new building but the sale went through after the funds were paid out for the build.

Not unreasonable at all. Always worth a read of the actual OFSTED reports too, some of the reasons for a downgrade are nonsense.
My DC go to a "satisfactory" school, and frankly (we've moved around a lot, lots to compare to) it's the loveliest school I've ever experienced. Happiest kids, no bullying, most supportive staff, very little staff turnover. They're just a bit lax on the paperwork for ofsted, which I'm all for!

I live close to an outstanding primary school than the good one I've sent my kids to. The good school has more outside space which swung it for us.

At primary school the difference in going to an outstanding school vs a good school is minimal.

Outstanding main stream schools very rarely have outstanding provision for SEN children.

I think if you've put this thread under AIBU, you'd certainly have 99% voters agree you did the right thing.

A good school isn't necessary worse than an outstanding one. What matters more is who cares the children more and that's what you want.

Rest easy. You know your child and you know your values and you have made the decision you believe to be the best for your child with the information you have. That's all you can do. Who's to say that other parents didn't also witness concerning behaviour but were "sheeple" and afraid to look beyond the label "outstanding"?

All the very best for your little one for a fabulous school start!

There is an outstanding primary school in our area that people would virtually stab each other for places at but we wouldn't have sent our children there for all the tea in China. Most of my colleagues were stunned when I told them we'd not even applied. But I just didn't like it. It was clear that there was an uber competitive atmosphere where children who didn't fit the mould floundered. Our children would probably have been ok, but I just didn't want them in that kind of atmosphere. We went for an undersubscribed school with a much more inclusive attitude and never regretted it.
I think it's always wise not to ignore strong gut feelings about a pkace, whether that is negative or positive.

Good choice! Your catchment school sounds fine and you'll be supporting your LO and that makes a world of difference - much more than an Ofsted rating.

Lots of different studies show that it's much more about the pupil's mentality and the parents' support. Sensible children with helpful parents thrive in nearly every school. Parents' positive opinions about learning count for more than they believe.

agree with@WaitingfortheTardis Ofsted is just a game. I have seen so many good settings slated for reasons unrelated to pupil learning and success.

We did the same (not for the same reasons) and now in year 4 have not regretted it for a second.

You picked the right school for you and your child.

It depends what the incident was.

I don’t think ‘outstanding’ or even good necessarily mean ‘outstanding for my child’ but that’s the point, really. Some schools are brilliant with SEN but if your child doesn’t have SEN, that doesn’t need to have any bearing upon your choice. This works in reverse too: if the school isn’t great with SEN but is actually delivering other things well and your child doesn’t have SEN I don’t think it matters.

To put it another way if you did have a child with additional learning needs, would a poor G & T programme put you off?

But if you mean an incident you actually think was abusive or harmful that’s different - it does seem unlikely they’d do it in front of a tour of parents though!

Ofsted is just a game some schools play better than others really, it very rarely serves as a true reflection of a school.

You made the right decision and chose the school you were most comfortable with. I’m sure he’ll love it. Ofsted is not the be all and end all, and quite often it can be an assessment from years ago anyway.

I think you made the right call too. We made a similar decision last year and DS absolutely loves his school and we're really happy with it.