School in special measures

[stayorgonow]

My DD's (8yrs) school has just been put into special measures, after a dreadful Ofsted report, where everything, except safeguarding, was deemed inadequate.

I don't know whether to pull her out, if it is even possible, or hope for the best.

Three years ago it was deemed good, with outstanding parts, since then the headteacher went on maternity leave, then the assistant head. They both came back, and are both back on maternity leave now - so the problem seems to be four lots of maternity leave in three years, of the most senior members of SLT.

An excutive head was brought in from a nearby school in September, but that still didn't stop the Ofsted report in October (only just released).

The report mentions tumultuos leadership, inadequate teaching, children failing to leave with the required standard of maths and english, some children (particularly SEN) causing severe disruptions in class, causing distractions to other pupils. Ineffective governors who seem to be oblivious to the failures.

How this impacts my child; she has always been top. This academic year she has been suffering, and has been coming home very aggressive and started to hate school.

She has 6 SEN in her class. All but two are behaving (there are several more children without SEN who also misbehave).

She's been sitting next to one of the ones who doesn't behave. He's been scribbling over her work, talking to her, so when she asks him to be quiet they both get into trouble. Last incident - she wrote out the answers to a sheet on a wipeboard, and he rubbed it out. She was punished for not doing it. She came home crying, saying she didn't want to go in anymore. I wrote to her teacher and was told that she knew there was an issue and would monitor it (DD already had run ins with him, pushing her out line, pushing her over, taking her things, and I'd been called into school about it, but it seems they now link a naughty child with a good one).

All in all I'm worried. We live in a wholly selective area, and she will be taking her 11+ in two years, the school we are in catchment for if she fails is a rubbish school.

She's in year 4. There is a meeting, but I don't know what to ask, or whether to try to find somewhere else (bearing in mind that looking on the Council's site there are no vacancies.

tumultuous of course.

Are there Year 4 spaces in any alternative schools? You might want to get an application in quick, before the rush.

I think in the meeting you start with your third to last paragraph and tell them it has to stop, they are holding her back and damaging her education and her enthusiasm for learning.

Did you watch the documentary series School? There they link high achievers with SEN pupils as a response to funding issues. If I were you I’d insist that this strategy is obviously harming my DC and ask for it to stop immediately.

If the school isnoe in special measures you’ll find it’ll now have resources thrown at it. In my experience this is where schools start to get better. If there’s no spaces nearby you’ll just have to bide your time and hope this is one that SM is the turning point.

Is it already an Academy?

I'd go to the meeting, but also make an appointment with the Executive Head (or another SLT) to discuss specifically what's happening to your daughter.

Thank you all. Their effective handling of SEN children was damned in the report. The 'quiet' ones seem to coast and fail, the loud, incredibly diptuptive ones (kicking teachers, kicking and punching windows and doors), get the attention, the class as a whole fails.

There is also a lack of parental interest as a whole. The school seems like a guest list for a particular man's show on ITV weekday mornings!

Just last week a parent attacked another parent in front of me and some teachers, the school sends out letters periodically stating that parents are not to be abusive to staff and other parents on school grounds.

Aargh! I'm pretty sure there are no places anywhere, and I have no idea how to even go about asking other nearby schools (can't do it online as haven't changed address).

@DobbinsVeil no not yet, but they have already approached, and are waiting to join, a multi academy trust (I guess that means becoming an academy)?

The current head isn't due back till the end of the summer term, she was good, and the school felt OK when she was there, I don't know whether she'll be coming back or be sacked?

DD has had a couple of years where she's ended up with two or three different teachers during the school year - for various reasons, two for maternity leave (seems common among the teachers there), and a couple who struggled with her particular class, so even when it was 'good' she maybe suffered from lack of continuity.

Your first place to look for information about school places is your local councils website. That should tell you what the process is for getting on waiting lists and seeing whether places are available.

I have had experience of a school in special measures that turned it around very quickly, however what you are describing sounds horrendous. I feel so sorry for your dd.

My dcs Primary has some very questionable parents. I saw a tag on the leg of the first parent I saw in reception! However I bode my time and made a go of it. My dcs ended up leaving Ruth good SATS.
However this sounds like off the scale daily disruption. There's no wonder that your dd is turned off.

I would start ringing round Schools now. You think are no places but you never know.

I would move her. In my experience schools can and do turn around from where yours is now but it takes 2 years to get it back to good. Do you drive? Could she commute to a slightly further away school?

I think the first step is to insist your child is moved to a different seat. Ask to see a copy of the schools bullying policy. Be clear your not going to be fobbed off.

Then approach local better schools and ask to be put on the waiting list.

As it's likely going to join a MAT I'd be asking how much monitoring and input the LA has planned until its joined.

I think the Governor's will be disbanded and the LA will appoint at least an interim board.

Re class behaviour, I reckon they will probably say teachers will be better supported and have training. I'd be raising how there is daily disruption and it will take time for training to happen and I'd ask be asking will the LA will do in the short-term. Such as sending an Ed Psych in to give some immediate advice/more TAs in class to help manage the behaviour.

@Elisheva no I don't (can't/not medically able) drive.

@wwwwwwwwwwwwww I've asked for her to be moved, they say she is not being bullied, and will keep an eye on it.

@DobbinsVeil I will do, I'll ask at the meeting tonight (if they allow). Is a MAT good the? I'd heard that academies were bad.

Thank you all

Have they actually moved her?

How would they characterise the other child's behaviour if not bullying? Rubbing out her work is very cruel. Where a school has a lot of problems, I think you need to be a really firm advocate for your child to ensure they don't get overlooked.

I'd be clear your child is unhappy and you've seen behavioural changes. Ask she is sat beside another quite child as she is struggling with other children distracting her.

I'd be quick in trying to get a place in another school as the ofsted might start an exodus.

They'll probably be all about going forward etc but they should allow you to ask some questions. Probably won't answer specifics, but I'd also be asking what they propose to do about keeping you informed on what's going on. e.g. will they set up a Parent Focus group (this is what ours did when the Governors were replaced and no parent governor). Will they be issuing the relevant parts of the Improvement plan to parents? etc.

I can't speak of all MATs, but I'm not a fan my DC's school primary school one [understatement]. But a different MAT has done wonders for my DC's secondary school, in terms of academic achievement it's gone from rock bottom to best in county. But that's out of your hands, hopefully they will have a rep from the MAT there (if things have moved that far).

Something that still irks me, is the first thing our MAT announced at our Ofsted of Doom meeting (school was already an academy when it got Inadequate) was to change the school logo. This meant a change in uniform which meant no second hand/hand me downs etc. It really takes the piss for parents to find themselves with a greater cost because the school failed and thought they'd slightly change the design. And added expense of ties, which get lost quite a lot!

@DobbinsVeil that sounds really shite, changing the uniform, I've only just bought a whole new set for DD as she'd outgrown her last lot. Changing the logo doesn't change anything!

It looks like the governors won't be replaced, and the chair thinks this is a 'positive' thing, especially for the children!

www.mix96.co.uk/news/local/2761989/aylesbury-primary-school-placed-in-special-measures/

This is the school with a link to the school's site and the report. Not sure if it's allowed or not, I'll report my post if it's not allowed.

There aren’t any extra resources thrown at schools in special measures. It is a well peddled myth. They get more monitoring from Ofsted instead. In this case they will be working with an advisor as well but there’s no money for extra staff or resources. Staff will leave (fairly inevitable) and the school will struggle to replace them - being in special meadures puts a lot of teachers off applying.

However reading between the lines the school saw this coming, they had already looked into academy trusts etc. I don’t know the school, to know if it is a blip where the frequent changes of management have had an impact or whether the school has bounced in and out of good for the past few years. If it is a blip, I suspect you’ll see rapid changes, I would be asking about the stability of the management team, stability of teaching team - will the MAT help to plug the gaps if necessary.
With your daughter, if there are other places available then I might look round, however if you are in a selective authority the reality is you are likely to need to tutor anyway and I’d start this earlier in this case and then your mind is put at rest about secondaries.

The biggest impact on your daughter though is you. You can encourage her to do her best, challenge herself. It’s why secondaries in special measures still get pupils with strings of A*s it 8/9s as teachers frequently bend over backwards to help the ones that want to learn.

It seems the appointment of the Executive Head and looking at joining a MAT have been enough to save the GB. For now.

I reckon you'll see some changes to teaching staff. It's so unpredictable, I know some schools have come through special measures into much better schools. Not the case for my DC primary which remains chaos, but hopefully your school will have a positive turn around very quickly.

I would remove my child as soon as possible. I would call as many local school as I can today and find out which ones have spaces or waiting lists. If you can afford it I would pay for a tutor to bring her back up to her old standard/11+ standards.

@Ionacat Thank you, that's helpful and interesting. Absolutely will look into helping her re: tuition, her brother passed (was a single mum at the time and couldn't afford tuition for him, but his school was very good).

The unpredictability is what scares me. My friend said it's good as we've not got that long left, but to me, this last couple of years is really important, and I don't want to just cross my fingers.

To be honest I didn't want this school, as it's always had problems (before current head on mat leave). It came out of special measures when DD was in reception, so has never been 'good'. I actually never put it down as a choice, and refused it intially when offered, but the head and her enthusiasm changed my mind. I was worried when she went on mat leave both times.

My DC primary school had a similar pattern SM (that's when it became an academy) RI, then Inadequate (Head was on long term sick, it serious weaknesses rather than SM) now back to RI. For logistical reasons, moving my DC wasn't an option. It was the local school or Home Ed. My academically able child did o.k., but he was in a particularly nice year group, with very little disruption. There's always one, but there was only one IYKWIM. He got amazing SATs despite an awful Yr6 Teacher(!) and is settled into secondary. My children with SEN do/did not do so well and I do feel guilty about it.

The lack of adequate Leadership cover for the maternity leave is something that should never have happened. It would be interesting to hear how this came to be, but I expect it won't be something they'll want to discuss.

If there are no places in local state schools is it financially possible for you to look at private schooling for the last 2.5 years. Or home school with private tutors for some subjects and clubs for sports or music etc.

I've looked at the next closest school, which is also Ofsted graded 'good', but having looked at their results, they don't seem to be that good. The best they have is English 50% working at the required level, but the rest is well below, so not sure that is necessarily better. I will have to investigate another school, slightly further away.

I will also have to work at home with her (like already suggested).

Sleepy - no I don't think financially we are able to do that unfortunately, otherwise I would jump at it.