Should preface this by saying I used to be a teacher.
I have two children and we live in a very leafy area with incredibly low levels of deprivation. Our local state school is hugely oversubscribed and many describe it as basically a private school. My two kids go. One is in y4 and one in y1. We picked the area based partly on the school as it's outstanding and has good ks2 results. It's also walkable.
But it's TERRIBLE. The headteacher is well known for being an absolute dictator, she will not change anything at all, ever and she won't even politely discuss issues or concerns.
I had concerns at the end of y2 with my son's work. He's a bright enough but he bought back books with absolutely terrible work in them. He'd scribbled all over things, drawn pictures of poo on it, written little silly stories everywhere. Nothing was marked with more than a tick and all his work was well well below his level of ability. It's not that the work was too easy, it's that basically nobody seemed to give a shit with the effort he put in. Did nobody notice or care he had done any of this? The headteacher met with me, didn't apologise and just blamed my son. He did have a part to play of course but why did a teacher not pull him up on it all year?! How is it ok to let kids draw poo emojis all over everything?!
There have been issues with bullying in his class, repeated issues, again not dealt with or even acknowledged.
My youngest started reception and it was ok but he struggled as their approach is so linear. Hardly any time for play, no outdoor time - their 'area' is honestly never ever used. As a reception teacher I know full well it was piss poor and that good Early Years teaching is very different.
This year we are STILL not allowed on site at all, not ever. All children are expected to go in on day 1 just through the main door. Many of the y1 cried... They are still so little!!! They didn't even send the teacher out. Expected them just to go in and find their way to new classroom. It's a 3 form entry school so is a big site.
It's just such a poor school. So insular and very 'our way or fuck off'. We could move them but they wouldn't get places in a school together. Logistically a nightmare.
The school haven't been inspected fully since 2007!!! I am sorry but that's appalling no? This is nearly 15 fucking years ago. I am absolutely certain they will not get an outstanding again and I honestly think they need a big wake up call.
I've spoken to numerous other parents all of whom agree that there are big issues with the school and especially the head teachers attitude. So it's not just me. The most recent issue a friend had was quite a serious almost safeguarding issue which the head teacher dismissed as it didn't actually happen and was just a near miss. (Child almost sent home with someone that didn't have permission to collect them, but another parent intervened. Office staff about to hand the child over!!)
Is there ANYTHING I can do?