HEEELLLPPPPP! - Ofsted or gut Feeling?

[mumtochloe]

Hello

DD is due to start school in Sept and we have been visiting the primary schools in the local area. We narrowed it down to two and thought we had decided until now. The school we liked the best seemed fantastic in every sense and we were absolutely certain this was the right school for her. However the Ofsted report for 2001 said that compared to similar school it had a below average rating for progress. It did mention the school needed work on the outside play areas which was rectified in 2003 so maybe everything else has improved since then. The other school was fine but our gut feeling was it wasn't as good as the other one yet the Ofsted report in 1999 gave it A and B ratings which are well above average.

Do you think we should apply for the school we personally liked the best and risk below average performance in key subjects or do we send her to the school we liked, but not as much because of the performance tables?

We have to apply by next week so any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks! xx

go with your gut feeling.
plus one with goood ofsted prob madly oversubscribed and bigger classes etc.

cant remeber whio said it to me, but someone said school with recently bad report often really picks up immediately

Which do you think your dd will be happy in?

Trust your instincts. When you visited the school did they show you the work produced by different classes? Were the children working purposefully? Were the wall displays good? Is the PTA active and well-supported? After-school clubs? These things matter as much as league table results and Ofstead. You will probably find the school will be eager to address all their "failings" quickly. The main thing is that your daughter will be happy there.

Gosh thats was quick!! Thanks ever so much

The one we liked more was also recommended by our Childminder who has 20 years experience and who's opinion we trust implicitely, but the Ofsted results really worried me.

I don't know if it makes a difference but the one we liked better is catholic (we are not religous) and the other one is a non religous school. Would this make a difference?

Thanks Again

We've just had to make similar decisons and ended up going on limited knowledge and gut instinct as ot where ds and dd would be better suited - so I recognise the dilemma.

What does the comment about "progress" relate to and could the comparison to a similar school be misleading ? It sounds as if you have already done your homework as regards discovering about improvements to play areas etc. tbh if you think that school suits your dd better then perhaps the Ofsted report is less relevant to the decision. I suspect they may be fairly suibjective anyway.

wow! you have to decide early dont you? my dd also starts school next sept but we dont hand in our preference forms until the beginning of feb.
personally i would go with the school you liked best. besides 2001 was ages ago & a lot can happen in that time. what are their current results like? do they compare favourably with the other school or are they still way below? go to www.dfes.gov.uk/performancetables/ & check it out.

Liz's - progress related really to performance in the key subjects - Maths, English and Science. However the kids seemed motivated, polite and interested in the work they were doing. The other school also had interested motivated kids but everything seemed more disorganised, and DD also seemed to prefer the other one.

Eeeek - sometimes I hate being a parent - so much worry and stress!!

Gut feeling. So much may have happened since 2001, the results that year may have been skewed by a few pupils. Some schools also play up for OFSTED (special lessons, themes planned etc) whilst some just show a typical working week.

Go with your gut feeling, things change. BTW the primary school my friend works in recently got a less than glowing OFSTED report. The report made a huge fuss about the fact that for a school with such a "privileged" intake, not enough kids get level 5s at KS2 (approx 40% in each subject get level 5, something like 95% get level 4). Report was quite off-putting but school is great.

Firestorm - I love you!

I have just checked and the more up to date stats show that the preferred school is better in English and Maths and only slightly lower in Science.

Dilemma solved.

Thanks so much everyone. What would I do without Mumsnet!

xxxxxxxxxx

Graduated by now..