To be crying at the Ofsted report just published for my DS school?

[babyno5]

I opposed the conversion to academy status for this very reason. The pressure of that opposition made me many enemies and resulted in me having a breakdown and exactly as I feared they have now been graded “requires improvement”
Feel absolutely heartbroken 😢

Can I say I think pearls was trying to be supportive! That’s how I read her post anyway.

It’s not that easy to ignore or downplay a bad ofsted as you want the best for your kids.

Keep a watch on it op but also keep a watch on you too. Remember if your kids are happy tutors are great although I get it shouldn’t be bloody necessary.

But honestly don’t let it get to you as much as it did. It’s a very small part of your child’s like and with supportive parents like you they will suceed

And what battle just said

I don't think I am wrong actually

Read the thread. This OP is doing herself damage over this. No-one is going to endorse the OP doing herself damage over this thing which is not a big thing in reality.

OP come on a hike with me. It'll be pretty gentle as I am not as fit as I would like to be. We'll take in a couple of lakes and finish off with some ridiculously large meal at a decent pub. Forget this shit. It's not worth it.

"We gave my son the choice and I would never want to make any of my kids unhappy because of my principles. He wanted to stay with his peer group from juniors.
He announced tonight over dinner he would be happy to move schools"

I don't understand what you're getting at with the above statement.

Please consider that he stil wants to stay there but has seen his mother crying over an Ofsted report and will do anything to keep her out of the Priory, including leaving a school he wants to stay in.

Please consider the impact on your son here.

my dn school was put into special meaures and changed to an academy its done wonders for it -dont panic

Whilst being hospitalised does seem an extreme response, this is the OP's children's education we are discussing. The results of which will influence 6th form placements, University places and ultimately careers. Yes they can retake exams and have later opportunities but OP wants them to have the best chances on their first shot at GCSEs and having 8 English teachers in 2 years, if reflected in other areas, reflects a staff team which are not settled and happy. Why shouldn't she care deeply about the quality of education on offer to her dc. It must be particularly difficult seeing the decline of the school. You know what a good education looks like. Depending on my child I too would look for a different school under those circumstances.

Oh god people. I AM NOT CRYING AND SOBBING IN FRONT OF MY CHILDREN!!
Really they are all good-DD cartwheeling across the lounge floor and DS chattering away on bloody Fortnite! DP moaning at how nobody stacks the dishwasher as well as him and the dog is lying licking where his balls used to be!! xx

We all know what a good education looks like

We are not all hospitalising ourselves because the school is less than ideal

The crux of this thread is not the academy/non-academy status or the shitness or otherwise of the school. It;s the OP's health that is the crux of the issue.

pearls my mental health is just fine now thanks. I just feel sadness that my fears have been realised. But as a family we will take whatever action we need to

"I just feel sadness that my fears have been realised."

You describe yourself as cying and absolutely heartbroken.

That's beyond feeling sadness.

Though I should probably step away from the thread because I grew up with a narc mother who over-dramatised every thing that happened to me as something that happened to her to the point of ridiculous and I'm really struggling not to project here.

So. All I can say is please try to think of how you are coming across to your vulnerable children.

Good bye.

I know some people will probably say you are being overdramatic but I wish all parents were as invested as you. I often wish parents would be more proactive - I’d be the same OP - I do everything I can in the limited time to help my children’s school be as successful as it can

This.

Also the OP was not sectioned FFS how rude

If it helps at all I teach at a school repeatedly graded outstanding in every area. It's the worst school I've ever worked at. Bullying management, terrible outcomes for a lot of the kids and very poor behaviour.
On the other hand, one of my teacher training placements was at a school graded 'requires improvement' shortly afterwards and was a fantastic place to work with happy kids who were taught well and were making progress.

Ofsted is a load of bollocks.

I think you need to give it some time and figure out whether your son actually wants to move school or whether he has seen you crying 'feeling absolutely heartbroken' about the ofsted and he thinks agreeing to move school will stop you from having another breakdown.

The OP's mental health aside, I totally understand how upsetting this is, when you are very keen for your children to get a good education. You rely on their school to do a good job...and when you read that their effectiveness, teaching and outcomes for children require improvement, your heart sinks.....because you want the school to be Good or better and you want your child to be being exposed to a school which is good in all areas, not one where there is high teacher turnover, or the staff don't consistently follow their own policies, or where when they are graded poorly, the school tells the students it was a great report, or when contacting the parents isn't prepared to say there are significant things that need work, rather than making excuses.

I understand why you're upset. I would be too. And yes, your individual child's experience to date is very important - if they have been happy and seeming to make good progress, then that's really good and yes, Ofsted doesn't count for everything at all, but a poor report just makes you lose at least some confidence in that school, to deliver the best possible outcomes for your child.

I wouldn't have a knee jerk reaction, but perhaps ask for an appointment with the Head to talk through their response to the report....see if they are defensive and in denial and if they seem to have a good plan for moving forward. And then decide if you might want to look at alternatives....it's difficult because offend there aren't actually many alternatives, but usually somewhere can be found,me specially if you're prepared to facilitate travel.

It may well be that Op has had serious problems connected to her issues with the school before. She must guard against becoming over-invested in this issue, but at the same time, it's fine to feel really disappointed and let down and to want to investigate further.

And I think I might know the school being spoken of....in an affluent area, although like all large secondaries, with a range of children....but should be doing better than it is.

And I feel for the staff at that school. Because this will be so upsetting for them and mean all kinds of changes, which are clearly needed, but will be unpleasant in implementation.

I also think OP's mental health troubles are to do with more than just the school, but the wrecking of another good school that her DS attended won't have done her any good.

Because what is currenlty happening to schools is pretty terrible, and quite probably damagin another generation of kids - not least in terms of Their mental health.
The endless testing, the snooping and spying on both staff and pupils, the budget cuts which mean that good experienced teachers are managed out and replaced with newly qualified or unqualified students, as those are cheaper; the academy chains' love of 'making their mark' on a school by changing the uniform and then being ridiculously pissy and difficult about it...

Your children need a mentally well parent far more than they need a "good" school. But it seems the two are interlinked for you.

Would moving to a different area be the answer?

Yes schools are being put in special measures all over the shop to convert them to acadamies. It’s why I’ve resigned as a governor- something I did at different schools for years. I didnt have a breakdown but it’s certainly a rotten business with the children suffering most

OFSTED is an opinion and a snapshot of how a team finds a school ... and I don’t quite believe that they go in without some angles ...

Schools these days are incredibly pushed for funding and finding engaged teachers .... an outstanding school in our borough has gone through 4 KS3 science teachers this year ....

Needing improvement also means more funding per pupil ...

At the end of it all, I think so much pressure is put on results and attainment, but for me the result is just if my children are generally happy

“Today 20:47 TurquoiseDress

I know very little about schools (yet) as my LO has yet to start reception.

However, my main question would be- is your son happy and thriving at the current school?

Maybe I'm just naive to it all and will come to my senses over the next year or so, but I just can't put too much weight on Ofsted inspections and ratings.

A good friend's children go to a school classed as "requires improvement"- they are both doing very well in all areas, academic & socially etc.”

I’m really sorry to say this but it’s likely that you are being naive. It’s likely teachers and senior leadership have or will leave. It’s likley the school in RI will struggle to recruit because who wants to work there?

Then the supply teachers start. Then the short term contracts start. Then parents start pulling their children out (usually the capable and invested)

Many schools are being left without academy chains for many months, some years. The LA will wash their hands.

“Requires improvement”. The sun’ll still rise tomorrow.

Education is a mad world and ofsted don’t always help and nor do results tables.

Sometimes schools need a kick up the backside, sometimes ofsted are on a different planet.

You tried to help and keep it under the LA, and I suspect you were right, but this wasn’t to be.

It’s not your responsibility, walk away a little.

Move him.

What is an academy school anyway, how does it differ from a non academy? Why are they failing?

Academy is a private school chain (or more accurately a charity) they run schools instead of the local authority. Any school going into special measures must automatically convert to an Academy by finding an interested academy chain. Some are good, some are bad, but nearly all will mean a substainsial period of disruption for the children

Come to Wales. I don't think we have academies.

The whole academy initiative has been little short of scandalous. Frightening amounts of public money have been put into schools like yours only for it to be effectively thrown down the drain. When maintained schools are really struggling and don't have enough money to meet their statutory obligations, particularly to children with SEN and disabilities, it is absolutely appalling.

Glintsndglide..

“Many schools are being left without academy chains for many months, some years. The LA will wash their hands.”

There is no legal mechanism, as yet, for a school to go back under LA control. Nor are they obliged to take them back on. They do have statutory responsibilities but this isn’t one of them.

This is causing a few problems where the Academy chain has closed down and/or abandoned a school.

Everyone, in the DES, thought that academies were the Promised Land, a place where everyone was above average. They never considered failure or abandonment.