What to ask?

[Jelllie]

Will be visiting a couple of other schools to plan ahead if we don't get into our first choice.
One has 'good' Ofsted with lower value added score, the other has a 'satisfactory' with a higher value added score.
Is it rude to grill the HT on what has been put in place to improve their ratings whilst on a tour?

ask whatever questions you want, it will be interesting for you to see how the HT responds. If you dont ask, it will needle away at you and you will wish you did ask.

Look at the kids, how are they interacting, what do they do for the kids that struggle, over achieve, what other activities apart from the academics do they do, etc (developing the whole person point of view)

brains gone dead, will stop now

OFSTED reports now are v much based on the HTs performance and the paperwork behind the scenes. I know of a few schools that are apparantly failing despite the reports saying the children are happy and achieving These weren't even due to the new safeguarding automatic fails.

I would read the reports and pick out the key points that would affect your child. There is nothing wrong with asking a few questions and its always interesting to see how well a HT communicates but don't set too much by the reports. I visit a lot of schools and have been in some outstanding ones that I wouldn't send my child to.

See how the children interact with their head teacher when he / she shows you around.

One school I visited the children scarpered as soon as they saw their head. In another the children happily said hello to the head teacher or spoke to her about what they had been doing in class etc. In return this head knew every child's name and was happy to chat.

Ofsted reports are all very well but the environment the children are working in ismore important IMHO

Oh thats a good one treas some HTs are so false with their interaction too where as others the kids make a beeline for them to show things/talk to them

Gut feeling - IMO it is generally worth listening to your first instincts and feelins as you walk round.

Look more than ask - what is on the wall and in the classrooms? Are the children happy and engaged, even if it looks a bit chaotic (continuous provision can do!)? Are the children talking to one another and to their teacher? What books are laying around? Is the equipment out of a decent type (may be well used, that is fine) and offer engaging acitivities for the child? Is there outdour provision?

And don't be afraid to ask the Ht how they hope to improve from satisfactory. We did this at one school - it was a very good school but science (or maths?) results were a fair bit lower than the other two so we asked about it. The response and the HT reaction to this actually was the final nail in the coffin and we ddn't put the school down.

I have to say though, for me, it was that gut instinct that I went with and it didn;t do me wrong. I wet for the school that felt right, where their was a positive happy buzz and I felt my child would fit in and be cared for and nutured, not just educated.

oh good timing, we are off to see our closest school next week, by all accounts we are lucky and its the best in the area but I guess we should stick another couple down just in case?