Would you go more by ofsted reports or word of mouth?

[justbeingmummy]

So basically DS got into our 1st choice primary school and was pretty chuffed as he already goes to the joint nursery which he loves and I think is great and it is widely known in the area I live that it is the best school and nursery around. However I didnt think to read the ofsted report beforehand and just out of curiosity had a little read today and its not awful but its not great either.

Not that I can do much now but Im just wondering if you would go by wsord of mouth or the Ofsted?

TIA x

Ofstead reports only show what they made of the school in a snapshot visit. Go to the school, ask parents..if the kids are happy then they are doing a good job. Children get bored when not engaged in the classroom, a class full of working smiling children says more than any paper report can ever say!

I personally would go by neither.

I would go by 1) local school we can walk to 2) what I thought of the school, the children, the head, the teachers when I visited.

I presume you did that and were happy; don't worry unduly about Ofsted. For one thing the report may well be from 2-3 years ago and thus out of date (eg if it was satisfactory, the school may have improved hugely and be the better school that you have seen and know about IYSWIM).

Thankyou, your both totally right! The ofsted is from 3 years ago so as you say they could of seriously improved on the problems spotted on the day, and ive spoken to teachers and parents there and it seems a brilliant school it is walking distance and my son goes in the school all the time as the nursery shares the schools facilities so it wont be such a big jump when he moves as it is right next door.

I just had a little wobble when I read the report and had a 'could of done better as a mother' moment but as you say aslong as the kids are happy there and my son will be comfortable starting in a familiar place.

Thanks again :) x

Lots of good schools don't get a 1 (outstanding) on Ofsted reports as they don't "tick the boxes" but could actually be brilliant at nurturing each child. I've seen some schools rated 1 which looked fine for some kids but not for others, esp if they are very achievement oriented. You need to visit and get a feel for what the teachers do and how they seem to be with the pupils, and look at the rooms and facilities.

I have more thanonce come accross schools with outstanding of Ofstead where I have met parents whom have removed their child and said that the school did nothing in forms of pastoral care. For many of us the emotional welbeing of our child will be uppermost and a Ofstead report really cant work that out in a single days visit.

My children are in a satisfactory school one of them went there from an Outstanding school. She was happier in the satisfactory than in the outstanding.

Personally I go with my gut instinct I read the ofstead report and I listen to local comments but when it comes down to it "I know my children best" and I belive I will know what sort of school enviroment they need.

Sounds like you do for your son as well.

Word of mouth

Word of mouth and the vibe you get when you go around the school every time. I've known schools with outstanding Ofsteds who are just very very good at getting outstanding Ofsteds, and also one head who got hit with Notice to Improve purely because Ofsted arrived on her second week in-post and her predecessor had let some paperwork slide that she promptly got hammered for (and I know her and know she would have been absolutely on the case playing catchup with the mess she'd inherited) - fantastic head, fantastic teacher - just shite timing and the school's got a crappy Ofsted report for the next few years.

OP, my first thought on reading your post was what a sensible area you must live in because here, in a very far from post bit of London, people treat Ofsted reports like the Word of God. I know many people who based their school choices on Ofsted reports, dismissed some schools as shite without even stepping foot inside them and even moved house on the basis of Ofsted reports.

Lunacy. I didn't read the Ofsted report for my dd's nursery until after she started there and it really struck me how 'snapshot' Ofsted really are.

One of the many problems with Ofsted is that the reports are in 'lay' terms ie calling a school 'good' but most parents don't have much knowledge of the framework in which the reports are compiled to deconstruct them.

Sounds like your son is going to a school that suits him and you, and that sounds great.

Bitter experience has taught me not to rely on Ofsted - they had incredibly high expectations of children and were very down on the parents when the children failed to achieve - putting pressure on parents to tutor their kids - the teachers were brutal to parents- who in turn put [ressure on their kids to achieve.

It was a horrible school with little regard for pastoral care but they got great Sats results and Osted loved it - I hated the place - was so glad when my kids left - if I had my time again.....I would definitely not rely on Ofsted.

Word of mouth and gut feeling after a visit.

DD used to go to a terrible primary school, it failed its Ofsted report and that was the last straw = we took her out. The school has since got satisfactory in a repeat Ofsted, by the sounds of it only because the head/teachers have worked out how to tick the boxes/which hoops to jump through. Talking to the dozens of parents I know who still have kids at the school they all say its no better, infact many say its got worse.

Wouldn't trust Ofsted at all.

DS is only at nursery, but our experiences have still been pretty rubbish. His old nursery had a pretty bog-standard 'satisfactory' report not long after DS started there. Lots of nit-picky criticism about stuff we didn't care about at all. Then the owners sold the nursery, to a woman who already owned three local nurseries, all with Outstanding Ofsted reports. She set about making changes straight away, all of which we hated. The old owners opened a new nursery, and we jumped ship to them as soon as we could. It's left me with the feeling that Ofsted knows nothing about what I actually want from a school or nursery.

I agree with Clary - nearest schools and visits should come first - word of mouth can be very outdated and based very much on the intake rather than the standard of the school - eg schools in "nice" areas will have in general better word of mouth -that said if I had a friends or family with kids currently at the school that would influence me - but only if I thought they were looking for similar to me for a school
ofstead - I would personally would read then but agree its only a snap shot -

Thanks all for your replies, I think I have made the right decision. Thinking about it I dont know why I even bothered reading the Ofsted because where we used to live, when it came to DS starting nursery I read all the Ofsted reports for the schools in quite a wide area and only found one with an 'outstanding report' and even though there was a perfectly good school at the end of the road I decided to try and enrol him in the outstanding one a 5-10 minute drive away. I was so pleased when he was excepted straight away as I believed people must be queueing up to get in there and didnt even bother going to visit before he started (stupidly!). When we arrive it is no more than a port-a-cabin, which was a bit of a mess and a bit grass outside with no toys or anything to play with. When we moved and enrolled him at the nursery he is in now I didnt bother to read the Ofsted and it is an amazing nursery but I had a little peek when reading the schools one yesterday and it is only Good. So you think I would of learnt my lesson but just wanted a bit of reassurance. :) x

Word of mouth, if you have access to it! In my experience, Ofsted is a waste of time. Many parents in our school are unhappy with various aspects, which were brushed over in the report. I would go so far as to say that the report given last summer bears little relation to what goes on inthe school. Ofsted is a box ticking excercise and if the Head enjoys ticking boxes, they will get a great report! Unfotunately, most kids and how they learn don't fit into such neat boxes. :)

Neither...word of mouth can sometimes be out of date gossip and unfounded reputation.

Ofsted - what everyone has said here already sums it up.

Go on what you feel about the school, whether you think that the head is a good leader and if the children look occupied and happy.

Hmmm, I think there are problems with both. Sometimes parents' hype about a school is about them being defensive of the choice they've made and the school is actually crap. AN Ofsted report can be just a snapshot which is unreliable, so don't look so much at the label (1,2,3,4) but at what's actually said - you can tell from the actual comments made whether or not the school has a problem.

Good luck! You can only do so much as a parent :-)