Headteachers use open days to dissuade 'undesirable' families.

[Diamondsgreen]

I've worked in schools for a long time. The challenging schools used open evening to try and persuade families they wanted their DC to attend - empty places cost money and add even more challenge to the school.

However, in every one of the "good", oversubscribed schools the HT used them to put off families they didn't like the look/feel of.

E.g. in a small infant school the HT insisted on doing all the tours herself. Then at any mention of SEND would be most unethusiastic about how the school might be able to meet the child's needs, even suggesting other schools locally who might be better placed to do it.

A Grammar school made a big deal of all the expensive trips and extra curricular activities, you may think to show depth in their offer, but the strategy was to put off less afuulent families.

The one doing the rounds currently is behaviour. The school's (often Trust's) behaviour policy is designed to create a positive learning environment, but the school won't suit pupils or families who will challenge that....

Sensible management or wholly unethical?

It's unethical to try and put people off due to SEND, if they genuinely are equipped to facilitate SEND kids but just dont want to due to prejudice/CBA with extra staffing, admin, h&s etc.

But if it's oversubscribed then it does make sense the head is able to pick and choose to an extent. But it shouldn't be due to any protected characteristics.
They should pick the children they think will get the most out of the school.

I'm sure this goes on in lots of schools - whether its ethical or not is an entirely different matter ......

What a bitch

Tbh we went on three school tours and two of the schools said our son wouldn't be best placed at their school 😳 he's autistic but has no behaviour challenges

But surely you want him to be at a school that is best placed at?

Sensible

Not sure what to say to this I suppose. Whilst it’s not ideal for the school to be exclusionary, you could simultaneously imagine they have existing ND kids on their books and are probably stretched enough where they know they won’t give further pupils the attention they need? It’s valid for them to admit their shortcomings in that sense tbh, you wouldn’t want a school to promise the world and then come short in practice. At least they’re being openly poor I guess.

I'm fairly sure we had this.
Moved house with my very able 9 year old to a village. Headmistress started the tour super enthusiastic. Only after mentioning my SEN 4 year old would be following on did the attitude change. Suddenly everything was very expensive, and oh, did she mention how much more space the next school over had. The sports facilities that she'd been selling to my son were suddenly inferior to other schools.
Couldn't make the logistics work for any other school, so they went there anyway. But the head was always distinctly awkward with us. (class teachers mostly great though)

OP, different schools have different strengths and weaknesses. A grammar school emphasising extra curricular would be aimed at the DC whose parents might be tempted to choose private school - as grammar schools are selective, they would only have bright DC anyway. A strict school that has a strong behaviour policy doesn’t want endless run-ins with entitled parents of snowflake children, so better to make expectations clear up front. Think the Michaela school - fantastic results, but a very particular ethos that wouldn’t suit all parents and children - and even Katharine Burbalsingh has had to field court cases brought by disgruntled parents. And some schools are far better at dealing with/accommodating SEND kids than others. Would you want your SEND child to go to a school that wasn’t set up to meet their needs?

All the open days I’ve been at, at (not very competitive) grammar schools, have had 6th formers doing the tour.

I’m not sure about the less affluent families but I can see that they might want to dissuade parents who won’t support their behaviour policy.

And some schools are far better at dealing with/accommodating SEND kids than others. Would you want your SEND child to go to a school that wasn’t set up to meet their needs?

Very convenient for these schools that they are less good at SEN though isn't it? None of those pesky kids with additional needs to deal with, especially those that might bring down results.

I wouldn't be so surprised by this to be honest

When I was looking at primary schools, there were 2 who I thought weren't very friendly. And one of those was more unwelcoming.

(Not that I think we're undesirable 😆
Just if they're over subscribed then I can see it perhaps happening)

I don't think that school was any less well placed than any other. They certainly had fewer children with SEND, but higher SEND children puts lots of pressures on a school.

Was there not even a presentation from the Head? Heads obviously can't do all the tours in a large school.

I did wonder this. We toured lots of local schools. Most of the village ones said they couldn’t accommodate and they were overstretched and said no. Only one said yes but they were also very overstretched. We picked them and while we were waiting for an EHCP and a 1:1 there was a rotation of teachers including the Head who took shifts to stay with my child. They made it work until we we got a place at specialist. I’ll always be grateful to them.

Surely it’s better to know as a pupil and parent beforehand.

Our teens had a short spell at a dreadful school where the feral kids of the gobbiest parents ruled the school (I wish I was joking).

So we picked schools that had harsher, but completely fair across the board discipline rules and headteachers that would expel in the worse cases. Best move we made for ours. Wouldn’t suit some pupils but does suit others.

So I think behaviour expectations and discipline procedures are vital nowadays. And telling parents we haven’t got time to respond to your constant complaining isn’t such a bad idea either. If you don’t like the sound of this, then don’t put us down.

Our youngster is representing his on the stricter side, oversubscribed school this evening, we love the Head he is fair but no nonsense firm. I can see it wouldn’t work for some but it absolutely does for ours.

What would you prefer? Would you prefer The Head lied? Oh we are one big happy family expressing ourselves individually with a pat on the head for being honest if you tell your female chemistry teacher she should be “in a fucking kitchen looking after a man”. Oh there there have a lollipop and a lie down you must be overwhelmed with the 6 hour day you have to do.

Or would you rather know that your child will be removed from each and every lesson they show disrespect because the Head has a duty of care towards his teachers as well as pupils and a very robust behavioural team?

obv it’s not entirely ethical, but I can understand why head teachers do this considering their resources are already so thinly stretched. Their priority has to be the children who already attend the school and the majority of new starters. They often don’t have the ability to do a good job for both the majority of children and each individual with sEN. The appropriate amount of
time and resources just doesn’t exist no matter how unethical or illegal it is, and that’s not the fault of headteachers.

Yes sorry, there was a presentation. Maybe I didn’t pay enough attention but don’t remember any emphasis on trips / SEND/ behaviour.

I thought you meant they were singling out individuals to make comments to, whilst on the tour!

This is interesting, we are currently visiting schools. 2 on same night this week which I'm dreading.

What would you make of schools that wang on about drama and oracy? The oracy gave me Eton debating society vibes and made me think of Boris and his lot - learnt to argue any argument from.a young age but believed in ?????
Also several photos in the slide show of trips abroad to Paris and somewhere skiing.

Its (newer) partner school is also all about drama, but inclusively rather than oracy.

Wanting to put off parents who won't support their behaviour policy is fine.

Wanting to put off poorer and send families is awful.

They do that in smaller schools too, but they things they include in their presentation, for some, will be as much about attracting the "right" kinds of parents and putting off the others than telling you what they are genuinely proud of at their school.

All schools should be able to deal with most* SEN. There are simple classroom adaptations and support that can be put in place that benefit the whole class not just the SEN children.

• If the child is disruptive to the point other children cannot learn then that is a different thing entirely. That child needs more support than the average mainstream classroom teacher can provide.

So it really does depend on the individual child’s needs.

Any school thinking every SEN child will negatively affect their achievements really needs to be brought to account as this assumption is patently untrue.

I actually think Oracy is a really important move and for cohorts who have started school since Covid, who on the whole have poor speech and language skills, it is making a real difference. Using the word "Oracy" is designed to put off people who have no idea what you're talking about!

The result is that "fair" heads end up with struggling schools, while they try to meet the needs of children with inadequate funding.

Different schools suit different children, I think it’s right for staff to be honest about which children are likely to enjoy their school and which aren’t