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Did you check league tables when choosing a school for your DC?

59 replies

KateMumsnet · 09/01/2015 09:06

Hello all

There's an interesting education story in the news today - a survey by the NASUWT has found that fewer than a third of parents check league tables when choosing a school for their children.

We wondered what you thought - does this chime with your experience, and if you didn't consult 'em, how did you go about making the big decision?

OP posts:
BathshebaDarkstone · 09/01/2015 14:35

I applied to all the local schools. Smile

GlowWine · 09/01/2015 14:36

Choice? What Choice?
Also experience has shown that tables can vary wildly from one year to another, and who knows what kind of exams /education system/ whatever our kids might be made to endure in 5 years time.
For Primary there was no choice but local school is great so we were glad to get in, for secondary we visited the two schools where we had any hope of getting in and DC made the final decision.

missorinoco · 09/01/2015 14:38

No.
We looked the Ofstead result, but with a degree of cynicism in Ofstead, and used word of mouth more. Local school is the most convenient one thoughh abdcwe werwbin the lucky position of knowing it is an excellent school. Alternatives would have meant the DC weren't near their school friends.
I would look around more for secondary school though.

Maddaddam · 09/01/2015 14:41

Yes, I looked at all the local secondary league tables, I like statistics and I'm generally interested in research and education and how things are measured. I read ofsted reports too. Dds go to the local comp which was always by far the most likely scenario, as we like schools to be local and comprehensive. So the league tables didn't really affect our choice.

I paid most attention to the Value Added scores (which our local comp) happens to score very well on) and less attention to the overall scores as we're in an area with a strong middle class flight away from the local comps so a lot of people go private/develop religion/flee to the distant grammars. So the overall scores for all the local comps are not stunning. But I'm going with the value added scores which are reassuringly fine.

TeWiSavesTheDay · 09/01/2015 14:52

No, there were 3 schools in walking distance so other schools performance were totally irrelevant.

We did check ofsted and the main thing that helped us decide was visiting them all.

cathwalker82 · 09/01/2015 15:23

Yes of course I checked the league tables, as did I the ofsted reports. Choosing a school for my children is one of the most important things I could do for them. And besides I wasn't going to send them to any old place just because it was convenient for me, ie walking distance as that just wouldn't be fair.

CogitoErgoSometimes · 09/01/2015 15:45

Yes I did. We're lucky enough to live within striking distance of three really good secondary schools, we took the time to visit all of them on their open days and I checked the league table results as part of that process.

JuniperTisane · 09/01/2015 15:54

Yes I am in the middle of it all this year for DS1 to go to primary school. The problem I'm having is that the two top choices for us are very different types of school and they both score highly on visits to them, seeing the children etc.

They have broadly similar ofsted reports. One has significantly better stats than the other, but the other one has far better facilities, space etc. Both are lovely schools so I'm poring through the online stuff now to try to make a decision.

Only 5 days left to choose...

educationrocks1 · 09/01/2015 15:58

Yes we checked the league tables. Why wouldn't we? It's a good tool with which to start. Once we narrowed down our search we looked Ofsted reports. League tables don't tell the whole story but they give a pretty good first impression.

Chalalala · 09/01/2015 16:16

We're not that interested, tbh. As long as the school is not absolutely horrible, obviously - I am not convinced that schools make that dramatic of a difference for children, it's their life at home that matters most. If their parents encourage them to read, to learn, etc. DH and I both have PhDs and I work a lot from home so can help the kids with homework - I think they'll do fine no matter what school they go to.

cathwalker82 · 09/01/2015 17:23

I agree that if a child has loving and encouraging parents who take an active interest in their education and school work then this will inevitably benefit the child especially in the long run. But I don't agree that all schools are the same and that a child will do well at any old school. If a child wants to work then yes they will work but if they are sent to an underachieving school with teachers who don't express enthusiasm and a passion in their teaching then this would surely impact the child.

I couldn't of just sent my own children to nearest school just for my own convienice if a school further away (that meant me having to drive a considerable distance) had better teachers and they were achieving significantly better results than my local school.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 09/01/2015 17:25

Gosh cathwalker82 I do hope one day I can be as good a parent as you are :(

chocolatemartini · 09/01/2015 17:49

Yes but we chose the school that is least concerned with results and most concerned with introducing the children to great art, literature & music, a broad education and a good sense of community. It has excellent results but doesn't focus on that in the same way some do.

redskybynight · 09/01/2015 18:36

Yes. Unfortunately the only school we were likely to get into was towards the bottom but at least it helped us to understand what the demographic of the school was likely to be like. I wouldn't choose a school just based on their league table position even if I had a choice anyway.

meglet · 09/01/2015 18:50

yes, although there were 3 good schools within walking distance so I picked the one I had the best gut feeling about (welcoming head) and the least parking problems.

tobysmum77 · 09/01/2015 18:51

yeah, lots of underachieving schools with a job lot of identical, bored unenthusiastic teachers exist Hmm .

sunnyfrostyday · 09/01/2015 19:41

Checked, but uninterested in result. I went by the feel of the school rather than results.

OxonConfusedDotCom · 09/01/2015 19:48

Yes but put in context of everything else. A factor, definitely.

Clayhead · 09/01/2015 19:51

No, all three times we've chosen schools.

We visited nearest schools to walk to and they always had a good gut feel so we applied to them.

forago · 09/01/2015 19:53

for plenty of people there would be little point as there is no choice

This was my experience of primary schools. First time around I dilligemtly did my research. Visited all the schools in the area. identified strengths and weaknesses. Studies league tables and Ofsted reports. Chose school where I thought my child would be happy. Utterly, utterly pointless. The idea of "parental choice" is an insulting illusion in many (most?) areas of the country.

Looks like secondary schools might be a bit easier to get into where I am but there are less choice of ones where your child has a reasonable chance of maximising their potential. I'd still do full research, so at least I'll know when I'm given a poorly performing school that I didn't "choose" for my child.

sleeplessbunny · 09/01/2015 20:55

We did look but it just showed me how misleading statistics can be. For a small school with yearly intakes of 10-15 pupils, the way attainment is reported (using quartiles) is meaningless. 1 pupil attaining high or low can swing the school's result across the whole nationwide variation. Not everyone understands this and I think it's quite dangerous for small schools to have their performance published in this way, it has the potential to scare parents off for no good reason. And small schools often can't afford to do that.

Ofsted is not a lot better IMHO, its only a snapshot and, reading local reports in detail, I have found some breathtaking inconsistencies.

The most informative published data I used was the Parent Feedback on the Ofsted site, found it very revealing.

sanfairyanne · 09/01/2015 21:25

yes but it didnt really influence our decision
they just show how middle class a school is imo

gallicgirl · 09/01/2015 21:29

I used league tables along with Ofsted, parent view and most importantly, visiting potential schools.
I used the league tables more to measure by ear on year progress at our preferred schools. They'd been in special measures a few years ago and I was eager to see how quickly they were improving.
Visiting was what swung the decision though. It's the best way to determine the ethos and expectations of the school.

meandjulio · 09/01/2015 21:56

Primary: no, but there was a reason why not. There's a school 7 mins walk away. I heard bad things about it on the grapevine so joined the governing body to find out more about it from the inside when ds was still a baby. It was such a tiny school it was obvious that the league tables were going to be statistically out of whack. I thought the newish head and the governing body were amazing and was really happy to send ds there - great choice.

Secondary - sort of - we did have a choice, of two very similar-seeming schools, and we went to both open evenings and looked at all the data they put out in their packs, which I think included most of the league table stuff. There were a couple of pieces of data in that that did influence us (principally, the size of the cohort doing Further Maths at A-level) but tbh the feel of the school, the head and some things we saw at the open evenings and mornings were what influenced our choice. At the last possible minute, we thought to check the bus fares to the school that is not our catchment school. We can't really afford them. Luckily this fits with our preferred 'choice' anyway. I wonder why on earth we bothered.

Bitlost · 09/01/2015 23:12

We did! But now that DH is on teach direct in an "outstanding" school with much "better" results than DD's school, we've realised that dd's average school teaches the kids much better. We've also realised that all outstanding schools in our area are sweat shops for both teachers and kids.

So basically, Sats and Ofsted, it's a lot of bullshit! If there was a "happy school" league table, I might look at it.

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