Hill House gets 'inadequate' OFSTED report

[LocalEditorKensingtonChelsea]

This article from today's Guardian might interest some of you.

Ouch - just been reading the report - inadequate safety procedures, inadequate leadership, inadequate teaching, inadequate attainment....

Although the criticisms they make about the teaching may actually be what makes it popular:

"teaching focuses too much on ensuring older pupils are successful in passing entrance examinations, at the expense of providing more opportunities for pupils to learn in greater depth. Nonetheless, pupils are successful in gaining places at/or scholarships to the secondary school of their choice."

So many schools in London are judged by parents purely on their leavers' destinations so I wonder how many won't care about the rest. It certainly seems to be the focus of the headmaster judging by his letter to parents in response which is here www.hillhouseschool.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/HillHouseOfstedReport_Mar15.pdf

I would definitely not be paying to send my DC there after reading it.

Hmm, the heads letter is completely infuriating - yes the report is awful but never mind look at our results! What he doesn't mention is that many of the parents of kids in the upper years hire tutors for 11+ etc... so not something the school should be claiming credit for IMO.

For an accurate view of what Hill House is really like you may want to look at this petition in support which over 500 parents have now signed www.ipetitions.com/petition/hill-house-international-school/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=button.

The observations in the OFSTED report are not ones those of us with children there can understand at all. I suspect there is an agenda.

Well, some parents definitely do recognise lots of the failings pointed out in the report. Look at this comment on your petition:

"Personally, I am concerned with the recent Ofsted report. What is more important, than the safety and education of our children?
Having just joined Hill House last year, from an independent Outstanding School (on all levels), I am fully aware of the differences. "

and many of the other comments just reiterate the 'well my DC got into JAGS so that's ok' or 'but results are good anyway' type.

Um, I may get flamed here but the results the Head is so proud of in his letter don't look that great to me compared with the other indy preps.

They aren't sending many to the super academic day schools - e.g. only 2 to SPS compared to 13 to Emanuel (which was the fallback dead-cert option for lots of people I know). Same story with the boys 1 to Westminster compared to 10 to Emanuel and 8 to Whitgift.

If the school is preparing them so well for entrance exams why are so many of them having to travel over to schools south of the river when there are more academic ones near by?

Keep in mind the inspection took place in December though, basically the last week of term before the 11+ / 13+ pre-test exams would have taken place, so any prep school in the country would probably have their kids sit practice papers at that time. It's true that many kids at HH are tutored, but so are many girls at Glendower or boys at Eaton House!

You get a fair amount of the kids crossing the river to get to HH, so maybe they go south to secondary to be closer to home?

With schools like this, the parents will most lilely have the money, motivation and staff (ie tutors, as well as nannies and au pairs whizzing kids from classes to tutors) to give them the extra push to do well in exams. I don't think that any schoom can take full credit for a child's exam results.

The school is so much of 'an institution' (although not really all that old), and seemingly still run as in the colonels day, maybe it does really need to shake up its act.

I have a child at HH and if the OFSTED report accurately reflected our experience of it I would be very upset.

But it doesn't. It is not a little inaccurate - the school it paints a picture of is completely unrecognisable to us.

Our son skips happily into school every day, his teachers are dedicated and enthusiastic, he is learning lots, gets opportunities to get involved in sports, art and music and is confident and well-mannered.

Ask yourself whether a school can really go from being rated 'good' to 'inadequate' in just a couple of years. Where the last inspectors so wrong that they failed to spot lots of serious flaws? Or have the current inspectors applied a set of rigid OFSTED rules to a slightly quirky school that just won't fit into their framework?

I agree with sloanestranger. How can a school with such exit results be inadequate? OFSTED are either inept or persuing an agenda against a school that doesn't comply with their education theories.

OFSTED has lost all credibility over this. Hill House may be 'inadequate' in their view but I'd choose it over the 'outstanding' state primary on my road any day where I see the children behaving very badly.

Sloane the problems with welfare/safety aren't new though. The last two reports have raised issues and pointed out HH wasn't complying with Regulations.

I agree something drastic seems to have happened to the teaching though. I wonder if this has come from some teachers being unhappy?

It is very difficult for a current parent at HH to speak up to say this OFSTED report rings true (It does and believe me the report in some cases only scratches the surface) as the parents do not want their support of OFsted's findings to impact adversely on their child at school. So it's far easier for those in support of the school to speak up in its defence (and many are, including Tory MP Rees Mogg in todays press) than it is for those who quietly think (Yup Ofsted got that right....and more) to speak up (and there are many parents thinking this)
Child safety concerns at HH go back as far as 2009 ofsted reports at least. So it is not a matter of a school suddenly plummeting. It had an emergency inspection last May as a pupil survey revealed seruous issues with child safety. Due to that emergency inspection, the subsequent inspection was bound to be more rigourous on those matters. The Head is completely dismissive. Not helpful.

It would be chaos if they do close it though. 900 kids suddenly looking for prep school places. I bet the registrars phone at Thomas' has been ringing off the hook!

Good point licious parents have a vested interested in maintaining their kids' schools reputation.

JulieH1 interestingly your petition has 650 signatures but with 927 pupils at the school, there must be about 1,800 parents out there which means that under half are supporting the school.

To sign the petition you need not be a parent at Hill House. Anyone can sign it.

I think that so many parents are speaking in favour of HH just because it is an exceptional school. Most of the criticism I can read come from people who do not know HH.
I have currently two children there (and my daughter until last year when sat her 11+) and I have had and still have the best and most sensible education I have seen so far in this country. An education that builds gradually as the children get older and makes sure that the fundamentals of English and Maths are learnt by all with no mad rushes to cover a million topics with poor results.
The children are super happy, they are enthusiastic and eager to learn and on a personal level they are well grounded and well mannered.
And just to clarify I have experiences of other schools. My eldest went for the first 3 years of primary to a local catholic school rated outstanding……well let me tell you: the outstanding just reflects the school's ability to tick all the right boxes with Ofsted, nothing remotely comparable to the teaching my children have been given at HH.
I have the feeling that the report has in many ways punished HH just to be too independent in their ways and with brilliant results, because contrary to what some have pointed out the results are very very good especially for a non selective school that teaches to children of about 50 nationalities…..and as for the tutoring, I know many who have not been tutored at HH and many who have EXACTLY LIKE the children in all the other schools in central London.

Rather than jump to the schools defence, I think the parents should read the OFSTED report and pressure the school to change things that are blatantly not right there. Even if they get kids into famous schools is it because the kids are tutored or the ones who can't keep up leave early on? Is getting into a famous secondary school more important than your child's safety? Is it ok that more than 50% of the teachers feel unsupported and have no ongoing training?

The parents have of course read the report…….and to even suggest that the parents do not care about their children safety is totally preposterous.
The problem is that this report is so blatantly inaccurate and unfair that most of the parents are incensed.
How else could you explain the discrepancies with the Ofsted report of MAY 2014 that said that HH was good? We are only talking about a few months ago. I can only think that for some Osfted's inspectors you are good as long as you are good at ticking the right boxes….and luckily for me and the hundreds of other parents of HH this is not what HH is about.

As a HH parent, I find it very interesting that so many non HH parents have the time to bother about an Osfted report for a school their children don't even attend!

May 14th report certainly did NOT say HH was good. May 14th was an emergency inspection of the school by OFSTED as some very serious concerns relating to child safety had come to light through a survey undertaken by the pupils. It was a very damning report.

I believe the parents should be raising hell about the child safety issues not saying that because they get into famous school's they're happy.

I'm not sure why you think we are not HH parents?

Because if you were dissatisfied with the schooling, safety, having to pay for extra tuition etc etc, why keep your children at the school? There are numerous fee paying schools nearby.

Dear FUWAM44 I agree with you.

Ok let's blame the parents for sending their kids there. Foolish parents.

All but one of their 11+ students was tutored and yet Emmanuel was still the top destination! It's traditionally been one of the easiest independents to get into in all of London . If the kids hadn't been tutored they presumably wouldn't have had offers anywhere.