Ofsted Reports

[Zingzilla]

Hello

Just wondered what people's views are on these? Are they a reliable indicator of how good/bad a school is, or do they just show how adept some schools are at meeting bureacratic requirements?

I'm finding it frustrating that there is little information out there about primary schools and am relying on Ofsted reports as the only reliable official source of information in making a choice of school for my DD. There don't seem to be many parent reviews out there, which is a shame.

Any views appreciated!

Ofsted reports can give some useful detail but they really don't give much idea of whether the school would be right for your child/ren. Even other parents' reviews wouldn't tend to give you an idea of whether the school would be right for your family.

The only thing that helps is actually visiting the school. When we moved house I visited a lot of schools and found I loved one rated Satisfactory by Ofsted and hated one rated Outstanding .

Thanks Lawrie. Good advice. I'm new to all this as oldest DD starting school in Sept. We are thinking of relocating and the stress of finding the right school in a new area of which I have little knowledge is getting to me. A few school visits are certainly in order!
Thanks again

School visits are worth doing...don't discount Satisfactory schools - they can be little gems and Outstanding schools can be a hotbed for misery. Of course the opposite could be true too. Ofsted reports give you a starting point but don't rely on the reports or Sats results as a meaningful indicator of a fantastic teaching - teaching to test is a great way for schools to do well in Sats but not a great way for your dc to be educated, unless you think they should be doing practice exams continously to help keep the school high up in the league tables.

Unfortunately there is no way to tell either if a school is any good - or what kind of school you will need for your child.

You don't know yet if you will need a school that is good with:

• SEN
• Pastoral Care
• Bullying
• High Achievers
• Sports
• Music......

So even if you did know a lot more about the school you still wouldn't know enough about your child.

Personally I use a mixture of the 3.

I read the Offstead reports I ask around locally I get each induvidual opinion I can get (ask here on mn too that happens alot in the 2ndary forum so why not here?) and visit the school.

Combine the 3 togteher and then use your gut instinct.

Do rely on that at the end but imo educate yourself as well as you can before

And even if you knew what you needed for your first child, your second child could be completely different - and sending dcs to different primaries for most of us isn't workable.

I think it's kind of like buying a house - you sort of know the minute you walk in if you like it or not. We chose a school which everybody slated and had a poor Ofsted over one which had a very good Ofsted. DS is very happy there, so we definitely made the right choice.

I think that a lot of first timers cling onto every word of the Ofsted reports especially if they don't know any mums with older children in the area. It is only after you have acquired the Tshirt that you understand that the reports are so subjective and about so much more than whether the school is a good one. My DS goes to an "outstanding" school - I am the envy of many preschool parents living a little further afield. If I could sell up and move today, I would, without even looking back.

Giddy - it sounds like our children may be at the same school

Thanks folks - really useful stuff!

I agree with giddy, we are moving back to the UK in August, so I had to choose a school for DD to start at.
When I was in England last year, I visited two which are feeders for the secondary she will attend. One, which was outstanding was not 'right'. The head told me that DD would struggle socially and probably be behind compared to the normal students at her school. The other which is satisfactory was just perfect. The head was really positive about DD and the children were happy.
No prizes for guessing which one she's been accepted to.

Also, don't follow the herd.

Our dds school is the least favourite of the three schools in our area and yet, as parents we are very pleased.

The other two are church schools. One is immensely popular and the other is sort of a second choice for people who aren't nearest the really popular church school.

But, once people are in these two popular schools they are not very happy with what actually goes on. It is our school that has the effective head, the small classes, the friendly atmosphere, the great library and the feeling that the school is always moving forward.

Indigo summed it up beautifully. If I had vocalised our perceived needs before dd started school it would have been all about academics, inspiring teaching, well-stocked library etc.

With hindsight I now know the only criteria that mattered were SN support and pastoral care: the books and inspiration I could supply at home but there was nothing I could do at home to make up for the daily humiliation of finding that you had SN in an environment where SN = nuisance. Parents whose dcs had no problems were very happy with the drive and ambition of the headteacher and never worried about his lack of empathy. But you never know if your family might be the one to develop problems.

My experience is like many others here especially Cory and Giddypickle. I had to move my son from a "great" school, luckily he's gone to another "great" school but actually if I'd thought about the type of head/teacher/friends/muddy play opportunities I would have realised that sending him to a good very small school was a BIG mistake.

I think that the Ofsted system is deeply flawed. I have a relative who is a teacher in an "outstanding" school and I know for a fact that this does not mean that all the teaching is " outstanding" Inspectors spend one day at the school, they pick out a selection of staff to observe over a 2 hour period - so don't see all of them. I am also aware from people that are inspectors that alot of the report is prepared in advance of a visit based on the schools own figures and visits are largely a box ticking exercise.

My DS goes to a "good" school although personally I think it's outstanding because he loves it and is doing well. I think you have to go and see a school and make your mind up that way. No school is perfect what ever the reports might say.

I skim read the ofsted reports of all the schools DH visits (around 150 a year)
we then compare my perception from the report with his from visiting.

Those who can, do
Those who can't, teach
Those who can't teach work for Ofsted.
IMHO