Outstanding Primary School

[schy28]

Hi, we will have to move out from our current residence as our contract will be finished. Can you please suggest me places in or around London where we can live and send our only DS into a outstanding primary school and not expensive. Just a fyi we are living in a rented house in east London now and he doesn’t go to school as of yet. Many thanks in advance x

I personally wouldn’t specially look for an outstanding school. My my personal experience, those labeled outstanding are not the happiest places to be. My advice would be to visit a range of schools regardless of their Ofsted grading and her a feel for them. It’s often the outstanding schools that won’t even provide a proper tour in my experience.

Get a feel *

An outstanding school can change to ‘good’ very easily. Visit them and get a sense of the atmosphere.

I'm a teacher. A huge amount of outstanding schools have dropped 2 Ofsted gradings (to requires improvement) over the last year. There is nothing to guarantee your outstanding school won't do the same.

Our local outstanding school was last inspected in 2006... We're sending DD to a good school who had Ofsted this year.

My my personal experience, those labeled outstanding are not the happiest places to be

I work in a number of schools currently (well, before lockdown) and would say the same. The outstanding school is an absolutely unpleasant place to be, staff are unfriendly even to each other and the kids have little discipline. The RI school in a very disadvantaged town is absolute heaven to be In, staff are wonderful and the kids well behaved and polite.

The problem is that living near an outstanding school tends to push the price up of the houses nearby (by a lot, if it is really fashionable).

Where do you need to commute to? It's really hard to give suggestions based on such a wide area.

Do you have a preference as to whether a school is religious or not / how big it is / uniform vs. non uniform?

Another vote for a good school.
It’s the right fit for your child not the inspectors tick box.

You may like Gillespie - although in the borough of Islington, it isn't in the super expensive bit. However I think the cut off distance is really small (so some people who live on Gillespie Road didn't get a place.

Ofsted put a huge emphasis on the ‘correct’ paperwork being in place. It’s largely a tick box exercise IMO and ignores, or doesn’t get, the overall atmosphere and ethos of the school. An outstanding school, as mentioned above, will be an indicator of house prices though.

Go with gut and some searching questions over an Ofsted rating. I'd send my DCs to the local Good school rather than the Outstanding one any day. Much nicer head and children seem happier there.

Agree with the others, an 'outstanding' school is not the be all and end all.
I wouldn't send my kids to the outstanding primary school here if they paid me!

Hi thanks to each one of you for the valuable suggestions. I have seen other moms around me who are ready to do anything to send their kids to the outstanding or grammar school. Reading above comments I am taking a sigh of relief x

Hi we work in central London. So somewhere near the train station is preferable for easy commute. I prefer uniforms and other things do not matter. Many thanks @CruCru