to be worried about the future of dd's school

[tegan]

Things at dd's primary school seem to have gone down hill in recent years, with teachers not really getting along and a head who is retiring 1 minute then staying the next.

Dd hasn't been treated the best in the last 2 years she has been there so we have given her til easter to see if things are better with the new teacher she has who is new to the school.

But since returning to school 3 weeks ago 5 families have taken their children out and now there is only 3 girls in dd's class with 15 boys. .And i heard 4 families didn't return after the holidays

I am concerned i don't know the whole story regarding the school and why so many people are leaving???

bump

Do you know any of the families well enough to ask?

Or has your DD heard anything from grinds that might be relevant?

It sounds as if it might be worth your investigating other schools in the area. Would you be able to secure a place at a different school anyhow?

State school or private? Lots of private ones are struggling at the moment, and once parents get the whiff of failure about a place, they start moving children out as they don't want to pay fees for something that is about to disappear. One private school near here went under during the school holidays, but has been revived by the local council and is due to turn into an academy - but that's only because of a severe shortage of state school places around here.

If it's state, could be any number of reasons - has it had a bad Ofsted report recently, had issues with crime, been put in special measures? Has a better school nearby expanded? Really you need to talk to the other parents to find out....

Have you considered becoming a parent govenor? I don´t know your personal situation, but one of the best ways to change things for better is to do it yourself.

You really need to talk to the other parents, and your dd´s teacher about your concerns. Also talk to the parents who are still there. Perhaps if they have similar concerns you can lobby senior management.

Put in a Freedom of Information request to find out more, speak to your MP or, as others have suggested, speak to other parents.

Thanks for the replies

It is a state school whos ofsted wasn't great.

I have spoken to nearly all the parents and they all seem to be saying it's down to the head and her attitude. She has stopped the breakfast and after school childcare club so that hasn't gone down too well either.

I used to be a governor but unless u agreed with everything the head was saying u were made to feel an outcast very easily.

I live in a small place with 3 other state primarys within a couple of miles. All these would be happy to accept dd but i would hope things got better it had to be considered.

I am however on the pta and am in school regularly and have to say i feel the school could do with getting rid of the old wood and getting some fresh blood in

If the school is going to close (and it sounds like it's a distinct possibility), at that point there will be a large number of children all trying to get places in the other local schools.

I think that in your situation I might place my DD in one of the other schools now, in order to avoid possible difficulties later.

Would definitely be going for visits to all the other local schools to see which ones would be bets for my child.

Do you know if there is a consensus as to which is the best or have all the kids from your dd's class gone to one rather than another so that if she did change she would know others in the class?

If you did it now then you would be happy that you had got a place sorted for your dd at the start of the next term, if not sooner if you felt like doing it after half term and new school were up for it.

have you started to get a feel yet as to how the new teacher is doing and how your dd is doing now in general? doesn't sound like you owe the school much loyalty if your dd hasn't been treated very well since she has been there - if you can find a good school that your dd will like then your loyalty should be to your dd and watch her thrive in a new environment...

New school would probably be really pleased to get somebody who had a parent who was happy to be really active and involved with the school their child was at.

Dd's new teacher is a god send and from dd's point of view she has been the change that was needed.

DD had a rough time in reception due to her temper then in yr1 was treated the same by the teacher, punishment wise, even tho she had really calmed down but this new teacher knows nothing of dd's past and is treating her as an equal and dd is now happy and not been told off and is even winning recognition for her good behaviour.

I know all the other school really well but academically our school is best equiped .

Also in the coming years our school will be being merged with the local secondary school and will be rebuilt on their grounds so we will have 1 big campus for pre school to 18yr old students

God, they're taliing about building one of those schools across the road to me, therefore it would become my catchment primary and secondary. I would not be sending my dc4 (that I'm currently 24 weeks pg with) there. Why the hell would you want to send 4yo's to a school where 18yo's go?

i know it's scary. Plus the college is on that site and there are allsorts there

Was the school awarded a satisfactory rating by ofsted? Just wondering, my dcs school was an overall good, latest report satisfactory but ofsted have changed criteria and made it harder to get a good grading.

Yes they had satisfactory which the head then said to teachers "we should think ourselves lucky we managed that"