Sensible reassurance needed please?

[PrinceRogersNelson]

My Ds has just started in reception at our local state school. It has just had an ofsted inspection and was judged to be satisfactory pretty much across the board. The areas that were seen as good were the pupils behaviour and how the pupils feel at school. Reading the ofsted it pretty much reads as this is a school where pupils are happy and feel valued and are cared for, but that the teaching whilst adequate does not push them and pupils are not achieving as well as they should.
Obviously this is not ideal and it would seem that the school is coasting somewhat.
My DS has settled well in school and is very happy - in fact he bounces out of school every day full of all the things he has done.

This is all so new to me and I was wondering if there was anyone out there who could reassure me that it will be ok.

A satisfactory school does not seem to be anything to get excited about.

Thanks

No it doesn't seem anything to get excited about, but I would be very content with how your DS feels at school. It could have the best teaching practices possible but if he isn't engaged he won't learn.

Stay with it, make sure he gets plenty of sleep and help at home, and if you are really worried you could always join the Board of Governors.

Don't forget also that OFSTED inspections are tougher than they used to be, so a grade of satisfactory is fine. I agree with JJJ - if he is motivated and happy he will learn.

Thanks both.
I think the school are quite motivated to improve which is good.

I picked the school because of the happy atmosphere and am now concerned that I should have paid more attention to the academic side!

People move and travel every day to go to outstanding schools and I feel I am letting DS down as he just gets average.

Really don't think you are letting him down. He's happy and that counts for a lot.

I'm sure there is a recent thread on here or on education about a former outstanding school that has been graded satisfactory in the latest inspection despite the poster feeling the school has in fact improved. Goal Posts move and the focus of inspections move a drop in grade could be down to something as simple as paperwork not being to their liking.

It could be the paperwork, it could be that ofsted also seem to be swayed a lot by what they already know about the the KS1 and KS2 test results.

It is a bit of a vicious circle. If more aspirational families move their children away, the school then loses the children who would do well, the results don't improve, then ofsted is even less impressed.

The school my friends DC attend recently failed on their carpark and it isn't even owned by them. Outstanding in all previous reports.

I think you have to read between the lines, and yours sounds good and willing to improve too.

you can supplement the education side of things at home but you can not change the feel of school if that was wrong. A happy atmosphere is really important, and will help learning too.

Also, remember that OFSTED only get a snapshot of the school. If you're really worried, talk to the parents of children further up the school - they're probably the best source of information you have.

Thanks again everyone.

People (who are not swayed as much by OFSTED) seem happy with the school, but would probably agree that teaching could be more consistent.

I think CecilyP hit the nail on the head. I am concerned that parents will abandon the school for other in the are with better reports.

Nothing I can do about others though so I will have to just watch my DS and respond to how he is doing.

If your son is that happy with the school then I think you can rest assured all is well.
Any problems with 'coasting' will now bound to be addressed by the school in the next few years, before next inspection, and your son with directly benfit from this.

I know its sometimes hard to hold on to your own gut feelings about a place in the face of official judgement but I'm a teacher and I didn't bother to look at Ofsted reports or league tables when looking for a school. Even though I know squat about primary schools!

IMO their usefulness is somewhat limited.

If your son is happy then he will keep his love of learning and develop well socially. If you feel (and you will be able to tell) that he needs more academically than the school is giving him then it is easy to address that at home - though things will probably change in the school now.

Very few children will move on the basis or an OFSTED report. My old school received a satisfactory report, all the parents grumbled, but no-one actually did anything.

DD's school is satisfactory. I have thought about moving DD for social reasons but decided not to because she is happy there and is learning a lot. My friends with DCs at outstanding schools seem to complain a lot more about the schools than I do.

DD2's nursery got a satisfactory Ofsted too - even though it has a fabulous word-of-mouth reputation. I think both the school and nursery are very loving, which doesn't seem to count for anything for the inspectors but is obviously important to parents and DCs.