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Secondary school standards - I am sick of friends asking me about it, and I really can't say

30 replies

roisin · 04/12/2007 20:34

DS1 is in yr6 and I work at our local catchment secondary. IMO the statistics - CVA and 5GCSEs (or lack of them) speak for themselves, as does the latest Ofsted (satisfactory - but only just).

DS1 will not be going there - will probably go to the local independent school. (4 of the other 8 local schools are now in special measures!)

Friends keep asking me what our school is really like, and why I'm not sending ds1 there.

I feel there is very little I can tell them whilst a paid member of staff, and that it would be unprofessional of me to do so. But I find these situations very awkward.

How can I get people to stop asking?

OP posts:
Rowlers · 04/12/2007 22:25

I would direct the to the Ofsted report and say you find it hard to judge and know what to say when you work there.
That's fair enough and not untrue.

twinsetandpearls · 04/12/2007 22:21

My email is out of action as I have fluffed up the passwords and have not had chance to phone virgin media to sort it. One moment and I will open a hotmail account and give you the address.

roisin · 04/12/2007 22:17

Twinset - could I CAT you?

OP posts:
twinsetandpearls · 04/12/2007 22:06

Our CVA is very good which enables me to say with the intake that we have we do very well. I doubt to be honest that the school my dd is going to could deal with the type of child we teach in the volume that we teach them in.

if you have poor cva that makes it very difficult.

twinsetandpearls · 04/12/2007 22:05

I am in a similar situationas my dd will be leaving the state sector soon. I have a role that brings me into contact with parents and they mostly know I have a dd although I have been lucky that no body has asked me where my dd will be going to school.

When the children I teach ask me where dd will be going I say to them that we are a catholic family so dd will be going to a church school and leave it at that. If a parent were to ask me I think my line is that I don;t think that local schools provide what I want for my dd and I am fortunate to be able to opt out of the state system. This has enabled me to send dd to a school with very high standards of academic and pastoral care and my aim is to provide those same high standards for your child.

It is not an answer I am happy with and is one of the reasons why going down the private route was not an easy option for me.