Would you choose to send your child to a secondary school that only had a "satisfactory" ofsted report

[NotEnoughTime]

Hi

I would appreciate your advice opinions on this.

Our local secondary school is very large (ie 1750 pupils). I have been to look around it and I feel that my son could get "lost" there. Most of his friends from primary school will be going there. It has a "good" ofsted report however I didnt like it. (Dont ask me why, just a gut feeling). My son could walk there in 20 mins.

However he could possibly go to another school which is slightly further way (a 30 min bus journey which we would have to pay for.) I went and had a look around and really liked the atmosphere and had a good "gut" feeling about it. We are out of catchment but I was told by the school secretary that my son has a good chance of getting in as it is never oversubscribed (probably due to the ofsted only being satisfactory as she said that it scared a lot of parents off). My son will probably be the only child (or maybe there will be 1 or 2 others) going from his primary to this school if we choose it.

We have spoken to our son and he seems happy either way. On the one hand he said he would miss his friends if he didn't go tho the local school but on the other hand he quite likes the idea of going on the bus to the further away school.

I appreciate that everyones DC's are different but which school would you pick?

Thanks in advance.

Have you read the Ofsted? Usually Ofsted would grade the school over a large number of issues. Which issues are the ones that matter to you, and how have they been graded?

One of my local primary schools would get all 1s, but because they didn't meet the criteria for collective worship would always get marked down. Most parents weren't bothered.

Agree with Ladymuck: find out what the Ofsted is about.

I have looked at both ofsteds-the satisfactory one has been graded a 3 in everything and the good one has been graded will all 2's and 1 3.

There is more to life than what Ofsted say. Godd schools go down, satisfactory schools get better.

Big schools are impersonal.

I'd say follow your instinct, you know your son, you know where he is likely to be happiest, and happy children learn far more than lost souls in vast sea of other children. (Almost sounds as if he'd enjoy the freedom and independence from the old primary friendships too?)

sorry - that should say 'good schools'

Agree also. I know of a school that had a piece of paperwork missing and were due to get satisfactory but managed to blag it and got outstanding! It depends onwhat the inspectors said. I think gut feeling is important. Ofsted are there for a couple of days and have limited judgement all based on exam results.

I'd ignore ofsted.

Seems to me that they use tick-box assessment criteria rather than taking any notice of the great things about some schools, and the happiness levels of the parents and pupils.

DD is at a satisfactory primary school. Satisfactory by ofsted's standards, but superb by our own.

I would check how long ago the 'Satisfactory' ofsted was, some can be 3 years old & a lot can change in that time.

I wouldn't automatically be put off by the ofsted, if I liked the school.

BUT I would do as much research as I possibly could in case there was an issue I was missing. Do you know anyone with children at the school? If not, is there any way you could meet some parents - the teachers there might be willing to put you in touch with some (though of course they'll pick the parents who love the school!) Could you hang around the school gates and try to speak to some parents that way?

Can you ask school for more info about their results, leavers' destinations, their rules and policies etc?

Thank you-very good advice so far from everyone :)

Ofsted reports tell you about the things that matter to Ofsted inspectors. Your own experience will tell you about what matters to you, and what will suit your child.

Satisfactory + suitable > Outstanding + not suitable

The date of the report is relevant. In addition, ask about the school's development plan which will be designed to address the weaknesses identified in the report. If the weaknesses are being or already have been addressed in a way that you feel comfortable with, then the scores of 3 are no longer especially meaningful.

The new OFSTED regime is now stricter so some schools that used to be good would probably be satisfactory. OFSTED reports are only really reliable if they are 1-2 years old.

Does the other school have better facilities for the subjects you child is interested in ? Does it have a smaller number of pupils ? Did you like the Head?

Is there information about "value added" this adjusts the school performance (exam results) for the intake of the school. If the value is greater than 100% then it is a good school.

can you have a think/talk through with someone about what leads to your gut feeling about the local one?

Why not post a new thread asking what experience MNetters have of the school in question?
Lots of posters ask for opinions on specific schools.

Thanks ElbowFan, thats a good idea. Will do that now.

But being able to walk (rather than bus) to a school IS a huge advantage...

Ofsted seems to be all about paperwork and presentation. It's the feel of the school that matters. I'd be more interested in value added and the point scores at GCSE and A'Level.

To answer the title question, yes I did and I would.

The Ofsted framework has changed lately and it's much harder to get a "good" anyway.

Our junior school which I rate highly had Good 4 yrs ago and recently got satisfactory - but it's basically the same IMO. Ditto the secondary where DS1 started in September.

Ofsted not the be-all and end-all, need to go and look and see what it's like, consider factors like distance, friends from primary going there etc etc.

Having read yr post there is no way I would go for a school a 30-min bus journey away, that is a nightmare. Are you very rural? Would he realistically get in there? 30 mins on the bus is about 10 miles or more surely

Your son's plus point about that school (Enjoy the bus ride) is not as big as his minus re the other IMO.

Clary, we are four miles from the school! Its just that the school bus has to make a lot of pick ups which is why it takes @ 25-30 minutes. I could drive him there myself but he seems to want to go on the bus, maybe the novelty would wear off after a while (grin)

Im glad most of you are saying about go with the "feel" of the school as that is what I originally thought.

I teach primary and took my latest job in a failing school because there was a new headteacher and it was on the brink of becoming a non-failing school - I wanted to make a difference. It's the best job i've ever had. Failing and satisfactory schools can only get better and they get a lot of support from LEA advisors plus extra funding. Our school quickly became good with outstanding features.
Go with your gut feeling (and yes, small schools have more of a family atmosphere). I would guess that the staff are highly motivated and any poor teachers will soon be finding jobs elsewhere as the going gets tough...that's what tends to happen and then new, motivated staff will arrive!

I trained at an outstanding school and would never send my dc's there. Too big, too impersonal, too many highly stressed young, young teachers who made the most extrordinary judgements about children...

I totally agree with the go with your gut sentiment - you need a school which is outstanding for your dc's not necessarily for Ofsted.

Good luck (it's such a scary choice).

I would completely ignore Ofsted and go with your own feelings. I have worked in fantastic schools with 'satasfactory' and awful schools with 'outstanding', what matters to Ofsted probably isn't what matters to you or your child.

I'm a teacher and chose a satisfactory rated nursery over an outstanding one because ofsted ratings mean doodly squat in terms of pupils getting a good education..... They simply tell you which school has it's paper work up to scratch and how well the head teacher can b s. have worked at 2 outstanding schools, my current one I love, the last one I wouldn't send my child to. That said I think you should make sure your child has far more input on his school choice than you seem to be giving him.

Bulby, in what way do you think I should give him "far more input"? As I said earlier he has told me that he is happy to go to either school.