If a primary school has 50% of pupils considered to have SEN .....

[colditz]

and the value added score on the league table is 99.5%, and the performance points are 2 points below national average, is the school performing poorly or is it performing well?

Personally I don't think that you can tell from raw statistics. Their ofsted report will give you a grading (A-E) on how well the pupils perform in comparison with other schools with a similar intake, so if you were looking for a comparison I would look there.

depends what kind of SEN really and how many of them are in SATs years

but I would reckon that this is rather a good result based on the cohort of children

the value added score is the one that is supposed to be qualitative so that should really be over 100

it's all bolleaux though colditz

Over 50% of those 'eligible' had SEN

yes but SEN is a catch-all term that goes from extremely mild to extremely severe

And my Ds is on 'school action plus' - therefore SEN - because he has a dodgy leg.

Not sure if that is pulled out of the school's overall SEN for SATS statistics purposes, or not.

I suspect not.
Given a school's will to do well in the league tables!

oh noooooo have I picked a crap school?

Actually I don't care. He's happy there and I can keep his basic litera numeracy up!

It's in a deprived area.

But the school has the lowest score in the area.

SATS scores include all SENs though .. so one child with severe mental (is that the right word) SENs in a state school can drastically affect the results .. although a child with severe physical SENs won't IYSWIM

more ammo for the SATs is bollocks debate IMO

Colditz the only way to pick a school IMHO is to go in and talk to the head and have a good look around .

Colditz - being happy in school is, imo, the most important factor! being happy means he will be in optimum learning mode - and the statistics reflect the average of a school - not the individual children whjo make that average! The important score to look at is the value added - and even that is a statistic and so subject to cunning jigger-pokery! If you like the school and your ds likes the school, you have no problem unless one appears!

Oh why am I whittering on in this patronising fashoin - you know all this, get a grip

The value added score is not a percentage.

100 CVA is 'neutral' iyswim. They get the appropriate results from the children that would be expected given their attainment on entry. (It also takes SEN into account, along with other factors like deprivation indicators, etc.)

Above 100 means the school adds value - children achieve unexpectedly well.

Below 100 means the opposite.

But it is tricky to interpret at what point the above/below 100 is significant.
In our County the highest score is only 102.4, so anything over a 100 is very good.

The lowest in our County is 97.8. Anything below 100 is not good.

(NB Those figures are just for primary btw. Secondary CVA varies much more widely. In our County varies from 958 - 1023.4 with a wide mix in between.)

Does it have a specialist unit perhaps ? Our local primary school has a Speech and Language unit and takes eligible children from some distance, all of whom would be on SEN, but results overall are good.

Oh he is already in reception in the school, he has SEN himself. That, really, was why I sent him to the school despite it's bad reputation - I think it's reputation might be more to do with the catchment area. They certainly seem to be on the ball when it comes to making him behave himself without getting hysterical about it! And they do some speech therapy with him too, as they have a lot of children with SALT needs.

I have been beating myself up for making the wrong choice, that's all. And wondering if I made the wrong choice, where he might not thrive, or the best choice, where they know how to deal with him.

I think in the sort of school that you describe the statistics are not incredibly meaningful. A switched on parent such as you will be able to tell for themself quite soon whether the school is doing a good job of helping your child fulfil his potential or not. And if he is happy and you can coach a little at home to make up for any academic deficiencies he will be fine.

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