Choosing a school when all are "unacceptable"

It's difficult as the inspections are not all carried out at the same time. So we have a 'satisfactory' on our list along with a (very recently assessed ) 'requires improvement' and it's easy to assume one is better than the other.

The trouble with asking around parents is that one parent will rate the school, another will think it's appalling.

Am considering HE the older one now as well as the 6yo.

yes. DD2 (now Y8) were crammed something awful for SATS because their primary had had a run in with OFSTED.

Given the top table were dead cert L5's (and extremely likely As at GCSE) it probably hasn't bothered the high school as much as it might have done.

However, I don't know how many 4c, went to 4b and 4b to 4a, but I suspect there were some and I bet the pattern has been repeated across the seniors schools many small feeder schools.

If the schools are doing pretty well (exam results) but not adding massively on value (possibly related to over inflated Primary school SATs or even pupils from Primary schools massively moving on to Private/boarding schools) then this could lead to that kind of OFSTED.

My DDs school is due an OFSTED inspection anytime now, and I think no-one really expects them to retain their Outstanding, not because the school has got any worse (its got better) but because it is very hard for a great school to keep improving massively. Although being a Tory/marginal area maybe there will be political pressure before the election.

I would look at the schools. See what they failed on, and think seriously about your son.

To be honest lots of pupils have in the past gone to very ropey schools, but because of great parents have ended up with very good outcomes.

I also think with the new Ofsted criteria that if pupils did not make expected levels of progress in English and Maths, the best grade the school could achieve was Requires Improvement. I understand that many schools have therefore had a problem with this due to the downgrading of English GCSE results (by Ofqual) a couple of years ago. Worth looking if this is the case? According to one of the governors of our local school, this was a major issue for them.

But the problem is, there is no 'Satisfactory' any more - only 'Requires Improvement', so, if all schools are meant to be either Good or Outstanding, surely that makes Good or Outstanding actually mean 'normal' and is therefore either a completely arbitrary measure, or otherwise unachievable?

The whole thing rather reminds me of the US president (I forget which one) who said who said he wanted everybody in the country to be earning above average wage.

Too true Magrat Ofsted is indeed a political tool, but I'm not sure for which party?

Sometimes it's Tory, having a go at schools that fail their brightest pupils.
Sometimes it's Liberal having a go at schools that fail FSM and SN
Sometimes it's Socialist and has a go at Grammar and free schools and Academies.
Very occasionally it's on the parents and DCs side having a go at schools that are genuinely getting worst results than their pupils deserve.

Personally, I think, Ofsted serves only one master. It's self!

I have come to believe the bottom line is Ofsted cares only about appearing useful and necessary and that means finding any excuse to upgrade and down grade schools regardless of their actual performance.

If all schools were deemed good or satisfactory, Ofsted would be unnecessary and all those juicy, well payed inspectors posts and consulting jobs in RI/SM schools would disappeared.

We have a similar problem - at most we have 'satisfactory' and at worst they are in special measures.

Not sure what to do really.

I wonder if you are near me? The same has happened to all the schools in our local area. Our most local was judged Outstanding two years ago in a no notice inspection, but has been put in Special Measures now. Tbh, knowing the school, I'm not that concerned, but then most of my family are teachers, university lecturers and one family member is an Ofsted inspector so hopefully any deficiency from the school can be made up by our joint knowledge at home!

As others have said, visit the schools, see which you like the feel of and which ones have teachers who care about the pupils progress. In some schools there is more concern about pandering to Ofsted than there is about the pupils. I think more and more frequently, Ofsted is a political tool than an educational judgement.

nobel We are already an academy, here and in many other areas, all secondaries are academies, so that piece of conspiracy theory is way out of date!

11, wow, where are you please!!!?

Most unsatisfactory schools will be rated satisfactory again within 6 months (they have a list telling them exactly what to do). I've heard lots of very positive stories about kids at supposed Grade4 schools (but no personal experience).

I would chuck the Ofsted reports & ask around for parent opinion & experience. Only way for sure.

New ofsted ratings are political bollocks, they massively changed how they assess them.

Now watch them all become academies and get a better rating.

And yes! To asking the schools for their previous reports and several years GCSE and A level (if applicable) results.

Forget Twating Ofsted and go and visit.

DDs school has gone from 'good with outstanding features', to satisfactory, to SM in the five years she's been there.

During that time the results got better!

Ofsted have their own agenda, it has absolutely nothing to do with improving education for the majority of DCs.

DDs school got done for a tiny no. of low ability and SN DCs (school had had temp Senco) another school for it's maths dept, that they were already trying to sort.

All Ofsted have done is depress the staff and lose us nice extracurricular activities shortening our lunch hour, they have got way too big for their boots.

Please, please, please, don't go further afield and give your DCs stupidly long days because of Ofsted!

(My DDs spend 2hrs a day on the bus because it's a ridiculous route, despite it being their nearest school. They hate it, but we have no alternative without me going back to doing a sodding daily school run).

As others have said - go and see them all. Have a look at the reports to see why they were graded unsatisfactory and then match that with what you have seen and what you feel is important in a school.

new Ofsted criteria is very very harsh and never just judge a school on how it was seen in high pressure for a day and a half. teaching and schools are about much more than that. go and look around each one and ask to meet the head

In your position I'd talk to DS again about boarding! Yes the sibling link applies here.

Read the words in the Ofsted reports, rather than the grades. It seems highly unlikely that a whole area has suddenly taken a nose dive in standards.

askeptical1, do you have time on your side? If the schools have been branded unacceptable they will get some concentrated help to improve over the next few years, and that should be a strong catalyst for change.

Alternatively, if you felt inclined to investigate the option of attracting a free school to the area, or working with other parents to establish one yourselves, then it sounds like you'd have a strong case. The free school programme uses quality as well as quantity when assessing the need for a new school in a particular area. See here.

Of course, whether the free school programme will survive in its current form beyond the next election is a matter for debate, but don't let that stop you .

Well, state baording is your fallback - does sibling link apply to boarding places, or are you still in the "exceptional need for boarding" category under which most (non-Forces) families secure places?

I think you need to look at old as well as current OFSTED, and look exactly at the areas in which there are changes. Which ones of these matter most to you? And which look as if they are most fixable? That might help you decide which schools are likely to 'improve' the fastest.

Or if you decide it's all crystal ball gazing, then you go for them in order of ease of logistics.

You say your thoughts are turning to private. Have you actually looked at possible local schools? Just because they are funded by parents, not the state, doesn't mean they will automatically be good (though to be fair, many are excellent).

go near school gates at the time they are leaving (sometime after 3 pm)
if there's a policeman, there would have been problems with pupils in the past (maybe fighting between 2 schools).

watch who is showing you during open days
if they are roping in kids from all years to me it is sign that y7/8 are misbehaving and hard to control

schools often draw agreement between parents/student/school where all rules are explained, ask for them

how many students taken triple science at GCSE and what were their scores

look at the report. what areas are satisfactory/unsatisfactory etc.

look at trends in school - turnover of staff, recent ofsted reports, last 5 years of results, value added (ie level pupils arrived at school, gcses they left with) etc.

visit, ask questions, get local opinions from existing parents

see what next steps are recommended to school/what they plan to do

YY to gcse results. You need to know if they are getting any pupils to A/A* standard, even if your DC is that not academic but especially if they are, because it shows how the teaching is doing to a certain extent and whether the pupils are reaching their own full potential or whether the schools are merely teaching to get them over the C boundary.