OFSTEAD reports

[Ellieboolou27]

Not much traffic in education so posting here.

Am I taking the ofstead reports too seriously, AIBU to relax my panic about them? - what if I have no choice to send dc to a school that requires improvement

Dc still in a GOOD primary, ofstead ruled in 2016, but once they’ve completed primary they will possibly attend a failing school.

Another 3 years in primary so am I panicking too much? These new ofstead reports where carried out in February this year, they were previously good schools, which is why we moved to the area.

We use them when choosing a school alongside results. They tell you a lot about the school, the teaching, the demographic etc.

Depends why it requires improvement and their latest results.

It depends on the individual school but don't panic too much about it if your child's school requires improvement. That usually means there will be a huge drive and a lot of support to make drastic improvements quickly.

Personally I’ve got little time for OfSTED reports - good or bad. In my experience (which is a lot as both a parent and a teacher) they’re not consistent enough between settings and far too dependant on the individual preferences of the inspectors.

I would visit the school, talk to people with children there. Things can change quite quickly so I wouldn't worry too much.
(It's Ofsted, by the way, as in education)

@Mustbetimeforachange been reading about OfSTED all night and still got the spelling wrong - my school was obviously in special measures

@PathOfLeastResitance that's interesting, as a teacher it must be quite demoralising if all the hard work you put is judged by a few individuals in a snapshot.

Don’t worry about the Ofsted report unless there are very serious safeguarding issues. A lot of the outstanding schools held in such high esteem haven’t been inspected for over a decade!

Nowadays, there is more focus on the leadership and what evidence they produce - when Ofsted first started, they did endless lesson observations, so got a much wider view of the teaching capability. Now there is more emphasis on attendance, results, paperwork, with a brief view of teaching. If you are in an area where evidence may look bad, the Ofsted may look bad. I have worked in some great schools with some fabulous teachers, but they don't get the same chance to shine anymore. Having said that, leadership in outstanding schools is often bullying and tyrannical and not a good place to work.

Schools can change very quickly -when your child gets to year 5 attend the open days for all your option schools, go again in year 6 and you'll be able to make your mind up. You can't chose off a report-you need to visit.

I take them into account for nursery and school and want only outstanding tbh. So I definitely can not relate with failing. I think you should look elsewhere UNLESS your child is already thriving and it’s not making a difference personally to them

Bobcut
Although most parents think outstanding is the aim I'd advise "good schools."

Outstanding schools only get inspected if their data drops or there alias's if complaints so there's a huge temptation for the school to "ensure" that the data stays high.

The majority of heads who get in trouble for SATs cheating are heads of outstanding schools whose data is looking like it will have dropped and they can't face an inspection so they "ensure" it stays high.

Straightforward good schools are the ones to send your children to and don't worry about the "my children go to an outstanding school" brigade...they're often not what they appear to be!