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Original poster

Its good enough for mine if its good enough for yours

269 replies

educationforteachers · 31/12/2013 12:59

If the school is not good enough for the teachers kids, then should it be good enough for our kids?

Should this apply to primary and secondary?

Should this apply to the methods they are using in school?

Since teachers are after all the best people to ask!

OP posts:
lade · 01/01/2014 20:51

I actively try to avoid living in the town where I teach... Personally, I don't like seeing my students at the weekend, I like to keep family life separate.

So my children go to school where we live, with their friends. I go to work half hour away.

I know many teachers who also like to do the same thing.

Gunznroses · 02/01/2014 10:12

Teachers are entitled to choice like every one else, their children should not be used as 'evidence' to satisfy nosy parents, if it does fine, but they're not obliged to. Teachers are also entitled to a private life and that includes their finances.

If I were a teacher I would'nt give a flying fuck what you thought of my school choice for my child.

WhomessweetWhomes · 02/01/2014 11:03

So teachers should be denied the choice that all other parents have, just because they happen to have a particular job? What nonsense. I have taught (pre-dc) in various schools to which I would not be happy to send my children.
You don't always know how much you are going to like a school until you've worked there for a while. So, assuming you can't necessarily just quit and easily walk into another job in a better school, the OP thinks you should just choose to send your own child to the school, regardless of whether it's the nearest school to your own home etc?
A teacher might have to work in the most appalling school, simply because it was the only job available at the time. It is not that teacher's fault if the school is bad or poorly managed. Why on earth should they be forced to send their child there?

MillyMollyMama · 02/01/2014 11:55

It would make no difference to me whatsoever regarding where teachers send their children to school. They make choices based on their children's needs in the same way the rest of us should. Teachers are parents like the rest of us.

whendidyoulast · 02/01/2014 12:53

I do think some posters are being unnecessarily arsey about the question posed by the OP. Of course there may well be good reasons why a teacher may not want to send her kids to the school where she works but it's naturally likely to be of interest to parents considering a school.

If there a significant number of children whose teachers work at the school that will naturally be seen as a good sign and if teachers wouldn't dream of sending their own kids there then obviously that would be a bad sign.

My kids go to the school where I currently work and I make a point of this at open day - parents do find it reassuring. I would never have sent my kids to the school where I began my career although I wouldn't have brought this up unless asked.

mrz · 02/01/2014 13:07

OK so imagine I do chose to send my children to my oversubscribed school and children who live in catchment don't get a place ... what then?

WhomessweetWhomes · 02/01/2014 13:43

I'm sure it would be of interest to the parents. And maybe they could find out how many of the teachers send their kids to the school, but the reasons and decisions of individual teachers are surely not the parents' business.
The other point is that it's obviously not as simple as asking whether a particular school is good enough or not. Not everyone's idea of good is the same. And it may depend on the individual needs of their dc, or the subjects they consider important etc.
I work at a school which is rated outstanding by Ofsted. I personally do not like the school for various reasons. I would be a bit reluctant to send my dc there, but this is irrelevant as we do not live in catchment and the school is very over-subscribed. Should I be going round broadcasting these facts to the parents of kids at my school?

EvilTwins · 02/01/2014 13:45

One of the schools near me DOES place the children of teachers above others. It's a state school but is an academy so can set its own entrance criteria to an extent. I bet that'll go down well - it's oversubscribed, though not sure why, given its last OFSTED took it from Outstanding to RI in one fell swoop. Anyway, I know someone who teaches there and he intends both of his DC to go there. Imagine the MN threads - "AIBU to think that teachers' DC do not deserve a place at this school above my DC when they live 8 miles away and I'm much closer..."

eddiemairswife · 02/01/2014 14:00

When my husband got his headship we were advised not to live in that Local Authority, so that he would not be professionally involved with our children's heads. I don't think it is a good thing from the point of view of both children and parents to be in the same school. There will always be accusations of favouritism, and it could be very tricky if there are serious discipline problems with one of the children.

Philoslothy · 02/01/2014 14:05

My children attend the school in which I teach and teachers get priority.

It does not cause problems . It sends the message that we provide an education that we are happy for our own children to have.

Philoslothy · 02/01/2014 14:07

We have had serious discipline problems with one of our children. , they were treated exactly as any other child .

I am in a senior position and could possibly be a headteacher whilst my own children were attending school. If an LEA told me to move my children out of the school I would tell them to take a run and jump .

mrz · 02/01/2014 14:08

Do other children who live in catchment miss out on places because of staff priority?

Philoslothy · 02/01/2014 14:16

Every year we have more applicants than spaces, as far as I am aware the applicants are out of catchment.

Our nearest school is undersubscribed .

We have quite a few staff children in the school, at least one on each year group , probably closer to three or four in each year group.

I am struggling to think of any staff who live within a 30 minute radius who have school age children who don't send them to our school .

Some staff even apply for jobs because they want their children to attend. .

choccyp1g · 02/01/2014 14:16

I wonder how many teachers would choose a Requires Improvement school for their own children rather than having them in the Outstanding school where they teach.

In other words how would you balance the "quality" of the school against being in the same school as your parents?

Philoslothy · 02/01/2014 14:21

I have taught in a requires improvement school that my children have attended. My school is not currently rated outstanding.

Donki · 02/01/2014 14:25

I don't know Choccy - it would depend on the school.
The YD goes to his catchment school (Good with Oustanding bits). It is not meeting his needs, because their experience of "invisible" SN is limited.

I would love the YD to come to my school (also Good with Oustanding bits) - but

  1. He doesn't fulfil the criteria (it is a specialist special school, not saying what for as it might out me.) - although it would meet his needs!
  2. It is out of authority, never mind catchment....
Donki · 02/01/2014 14:26

In fact the parents at my school would quite frankly be astonished if the YD were to go to it!

mrz · 02/01/2014 14:42

There are some local outstanding schools I wouldn't want my child to attend and some notice to improve schools that I would happily consider.

Philoslothy · 02/01/2014 14:47

I just want to spend as little time at work / or travelling to work as possible- so I live on catchment.

No great ethical choice, just making my life easy.

mrz · 02/01/2014 15:37

In rural areas we don't have that luxury

Philoslothy · 02/01/2014 15:44

I do live in a rural area , clearly all rural areas are not the same .

mrz · 02/01/2014 15:54

There is one school in the village where I live - the school has a PAN of 10 and is over subscribed so if teachers had priority it would mean some 4 year old children travelling unaccompanied to the nearest town by public transport. As a parent I would be most unhappy.
In the village where I teach there is one school and we've been in the situation where parents have not sent their child to the schools allocated in other villages simply because they can't afford the bus fare to travel with their child.

Philoslothy · 02/01/2014 15:58

I teach secondary, perhaps because it is dealing with a larger intake , it is easier to accommodate the children of teachers.

whendidyoulast · 02/01/2014 16:41

Fine. All good reasons and all very interesting. I just wonder whether there's any need for some posters to be quite so uppity about the question when it's quite a sensible question for parents to ask. I mean if someone asked you in RL would you really say, 'It's none of your business' or 'Teachers have the same choices that you do' or would you explain in a measured and calm way and probably not give the whole truth if you don't send your kids to the same school because it's actually quite crap

mrz · 02/01/2014 16:45

Sorry to disagree whendidyoulast but I think it's a really silly question because it assumes teachers have different options open to them than other parents.