My school has failed and is now in special measures :(

[Hulababy]

For anyone who has follwed by saga at this school (which I hasten to add I leave in July) - OMG!!! It failed.

I wasn't seen this time round. And when I left on Thursday I got the impression that all was going fine. But had e-mail from HoD this evening to say the school has gone into special measures. I have no idea why or how, but it has. And I have no idea what it will mean or if the head willgo or the time scales - if it will affetc me or not.

Although I didn't think I was bothered - as I say, I am out soon and I know the school isn't good - I still feel really saddened by it all.

Not sure how come I feel so bad as I have said all along that the school was poor and behaviour was so bad - hence leaving. Not to mention bad management, etc... I just feel sorry for a lot of the staff who have worked really hard and exam grades have increased since the first OFSTED a year and half ago. But I guess it is the true honest result in the end - the inspectors saw what we could see but the management and governers refused to see.

I think I will feel better once I know what special measures actually means and the impact it will have and when. I suspect morale will be very low when I go back on Tuesday I don't know

May sound selfish but I am even more gald that I got my notice handed in before all this.

Whilst posting had e-mail from HoD

"Everyone [the staff] agrees that the two days were remarkably calm. I don't think there were any behaviour incidents at all and the kids tried really hard to impress the inspectors.

Hence the shock. Only feedback so far is that only 78% of lessons were satisfactory or better. Perhaps we don't understand what makes a good lesson. Or perhaps it's just politics."

So, maybe will know more next week.

I am sorry, but think you are well to be going. My mum was head of a primary in special measures and used to come home crying and ended up getting really stressed. Also know several teachers who have taught in schools in SM and they are stressed and just can't enjoy themselves anymore.

What % of satifactory lessons do your need to pass?

OHH found it - you need 90% lessons statifactory. Good luck for Tuesday.

I'm sorry to hear that, Hulababy, and not surprised you're feeling sad about it, even though you're leaving. You've invested time, effort and emotion in your teaching and a report like that is bound to hurt, even though you weren't personally faulted. Take care.

i can uderstand you being upset, hula. altho' you want to go anyway, it's almost like 'no one wants to leave a sinking ship' but at the same time thank goodness you've already made your decsion.

have known some schools that have gone into SM and 12 months down the line have said that it was the best thing that could have happened. one school where i know the head personally won an award for 'most improved school'.

hope things are ok on tuesday

Me too - Sorry Hula!

Hugs to you Hulababy, what a horrible thing to happen!

I am in a school that has jsut been inspected. There i no question that they have raised the bar to a passing garde, and made things a lot harder. Stuff like the PANDAs doesn't help either.

Cheers all. It just feels so odd. I have only worked at 2 schools and they couldn't be more different. My first school was one of the first Beacon schools and top of the performance tables. This school is obviously no where near that.
I do feel sorry for some of the teachers there who ARE good teachers and who work really hard for that school. The school is losing many staff this year - they are leaving in droves, truely. But, at the end of the day, 22% of lessons were deemed to be unsatisfactory - no feedback, so not sure why they were. We have had so much work on this recently and everyone knows what they should be doing - objectivies, 3 part lessons, following the discipline policy (regardless of how poor it is), etc. Why didn't they do this?

Oh well, can't do anything until Tuesday now so will have to wait and see what else I can find out!

Sorry to hear this Hula. At least you're leaving though. Hope it's not out of the frying pan into the fire though with supply.

Well I thought that at first hercules, but really it can't be any worse. With supply if I don't like a school I don't have to go back. And at the end of the day I walk away each night without the constant inspections, observations, work load and stress.

sorry this is happening to your school after all your hard work. Even if it's nothing to do with you personally, you've still got emotional investment in the school - its teachers and pupils. No wonder you feel upset.

I suppose one thing you will have is the experience of teaching at a beacon school and at a so-called failing school. You can draw on that experience in your future teaching jobs.

Hulababy
the new OFSTED framework is I think designed to fail more schools: there have been quite a few articles in TES about it. My kids go to the school that ks mentioned - Andrew Gilligan's old school (and have had/are having a really good education). Apparently lessons can be marked unsatisfactory for all kinds of things outside the teachers' control - like kids having to share text books. Really sorry that your school is going through this: you must all be gutted.

I've got the new ofsted lesson criteria downstairs - our dept is being reviewed this week using these (oh joy) so I'll get them after I've watched Corrie.

Well I heard no more today - HoD must have been busy. I am back in tomorrow so may know more then

sorry to hear this Hula. It must be so demoralising for all concerned. I did supply for a while and enjoyed it good luck with that. I thought that they were changing procedures now to make it easier for?? I obviously don't read things properly!!
I know one teacher who did the same lesson a couple of times before being watched. She got outstanding but was in reality not so....there are so many flaws. I don't know how my school gets away with it. Take care