To choose this school..?

[laurzj82]

DD starts school next Sept and we are currently looking at schools. She has SEND but no EHCP as she is not "severe" enough.

Local school is Ofsted outstanding and the one everyone wants to get into. We went to the open evening and it was all very nice but there was just something about the feel of the place I didn't like. It was a hard sell on Ofsted, phonics screenings, SAT results etc and when I asked about SEN provision and pastoral support it was skimmed over very quickly and then back to their wonderful academic results.

Anyway, I went to look at another school this morning. About 2 miles away but undersubscribed. Terrible Ofsted. Has been in special measures and is on a "rough" council estate. Nothing wrong with that btw, it is similar to where I grew up. Anyway, I loved it. Headteacher showed me around herself, got to see the children in class. They looked happy and well behaved. Much smaller school and the classes have rooms off to the side for smaller groupwork (my DD can struggle in a large group). They also have a place for the children to have a sensory break which would be really useful for DD. All in all, I was far more impressed with second school.

I think I know what I would like to do but AIBU? Am I taking a huge gamble? Is an OFSTED report the be all and end all?

Thanks in advance!

We applied for three secondary school places and I realised after the deadline I hadn’t looked at a single Ofsted inspection. I don’t judge a school by Ofsted. Their idea of good and outstanding, especially when it comes to Send, is clearly vastly different to mine going by some of the ‘good’ schools I’ve experience of.

Go visit each school again if you are unsure, and try to see if you can talk to parents. But reading your post, I would also lean towards school 2. Our -now- outstanding primary used to be in special measures. The previous outstanding primary a little further down has gone down. Heads change, schools change, ratings change. Check from when the ratings are, who the head was, and why the ratings are what they are. All if you must, because at the end of the day, it is your child going every day, not the OFSTED inspector.

I would go for school 2. School isn’t just about SATs and ofsted, it’s also about your child being happy, developing at their own rate, making friends, etc.

I work in primary and we are rated good. The school half a mile away is rated outstanding. We regularly have children transferring to us. The kind of children that need a little more time and attention through the day.

Overall we look like our SATS results aren’t great, but what people don’t see is that the child who leaves y6 working happily and securely at y4 level couldn’t even sit in a classroom without a meltdown in y3 and they have actually made so much improvement!

We have a lot of children with various SEN and we find a way for all of them.

Obviously not all outstanding schools are hothouses, and not all ‘poor’ schools are amazing but i would go with your gut feeling. Your child has to go their 5 days a week for years. If they are happy it will be so much easier.

*there

@Copperspot given how awful our school is that’s lovely to hear.

Absolutely go with your gut instinct and what is right for your child. Ofsted reports and school popularity are pretty meaningless anyway. I would just caution against choosing a school so far away as her friends won't be local, and the journey would be a pain.

@helpmum2003

At the risk of a derailment, I personally greet every single child as they arrive at school in the morning. I know the names of 90% of the 750 pupils (2 1/2 years old to 6th form) of them as well as who their siblings are etc.

I visit each and every classroom at least once a week.

There's a difference between being involved in the day to day life and having an hour to show a parent around.

Go back to school A and ask specific questions about SEN provision. Go back to school B and ask why they are in special measures. You don't have enough information at the moment.

I chose school B in a similar situation. It was small and friendly (DD very shy at the time) and it seemed to be placing more emphasis on creative arts and time for children to just be children rather than whacking everything at SATs. It was a lovely place, really warm and full of heart. Fast forward six years (DD in her last year now) and we have a new head who is intent on transforming it into school A. Our Ofsted is now better, but the school is much worse in a number of ways.

I'm with most of the posters here who say go with the second school. OFSTED isn't everything.

But check them both out again, then at least whichever one you go for, you will be confident that you've done your homework.

@malcolmf

I'm sure there is more than 1 way to skin a cat!

My experience from Primary and Secondary schools in state and independent sector is that the bottom line rests with the Head or other very senior staff. When I've needed to tour schools it's been because there's a problem at the current school or a tricky decision to be made regarding an individual child and we needed to know the bottom line and that needs to come from someone senior.

I did similar. The school has recently turned their OFSTED around though. Trust your gut, a small school beats a high achieving school in my eyes every time. When they're so results focused, individual progress can be lost.

@helpmum

In my experience, bottom line refers to balancing the books. The product I market is excellent education but I cannot spend more than our income.

Our SENCO may meet with a family. No one senior unless there are exceptional circumstances and not to give a guided tour.

I would (and have) told heads of schools which are failing that they need to step back and manage the school. I've told heads that they have been unable to distinguish between the roles and suggested that there is such a thing as a good resignation...

Definitely go for the second. My DS is 11 now but when he was in his pre school year I actually moved house to get him into what appeared to be the best school around. He was diagnosed, privately, with dyslexia and I had to fight tooth and nail for every tiny thing for him. It got to year 3 when he still couldn’t read and write and his teacher told me that he ‘couldn’t do anything with him’. Anyway it’s a long story but I moved him to a school on a council estate and we couldn’t ask for any better. They actually nurture the children without placing an unnecessary amount of emphasis on results. The children are lovely there, the teachers are great and they’ve done so much more for my children in two years than the ‘high achieving’ school ever did.

Thanks everyone. Decision made. I went for a tour of first school. Asked about support and was asked if I knew how much it cost Special measures for 2nd school was because children were not making enough progress. The school has above average figures for free meals and above average SEND so I maybe that is a factor perhaps

Anyway, thanks for your help