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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

The school dd is moving back to in Sept has just gone into special measures

17 replies

VivaLeBeaver · 22/06/2011 18:06

I think I must be totally insane to still be considering sending her back there.

She was at this school until halfway through Yr3. I wasn't very happy with the teaching at the school and withdrew her after getting nowhere. Shortly after I moved her the school was given Notice To Improve by Ofsted.

She is just finishing Yr 5 in a lovely school now. Only downside to it is as its soo small her social life has suffered. Only one other girl in her year group and DD doesn't even like her.

Anyway main problem is a year ago I realised if DD stays where she is her secondary school choices are affected. I'd always assumed she'd go to a fairly good comp in the nearby town where all the kids from this village go. Then someone warned me that the comp's admission policy isn't based on where you live but on which primary school you go to. They were right - I have checked and double checked with the comp and the LEA. Both have said if DD remains at her current primary school she will not get a place at the comp. They won't bend the rules which is fair enough.

DD wants to go to this comp so we're moving her back to the village primary school. Now I knew it wasn't great but it had been reinspected and got a Satisfactoy. Though all the parents I speak to say its no better. Ofsted have been back in the last few weeks and just heard today its been put in special measures.

So do I still send her there and basicly write off Yr6, but at least she gets to go to the comp she wants to go to. The one where all her friends are going.

Other option is to keep her at current primary school but she'll go to a comp a 30min bus ride away where she knows nobody. I know she'll make friends, but they'll all live 30 minutes away rather than living in the same village as her. I want her to be able to meet up with friends at weekends, etc. There arent any public transport links between this second comp and us so she couldnt catch the bus to friends at the weekends.

Exam results, league table, ofsteds and general feedback are more or less the same between the two schools. The school further away gets slightly better results but the neaer one is meant to be getting even better.

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Original poster

VivaLeBeaver · 22/06/2011 18:07

Sorry - that's a mammoth post.

OP posts:

Dozer · 22/06/2011 18:39

Sounds tricky. Is the comp good? If so, would be inclined to go with the first option.

veritythebrave · 22/06/2011 18:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

VivaLeBeaver · 22/06/2011 18:54

The comp is good. Exam results aren't the best, think gcse pass rate is about 60 percent but seeing as other comp she could easily travel to their gcse rate is about 38 percent I want to make sure she gets in at this one.

There are other primary schools that feed into this good comp but I just don't know if unsettling her my moving her to a third primary school is a good idea. She has a lot of friends at the crap primary so won't be unsettled by going there and she's looking forward to going back.

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Original poster

VivaLeBeaver · 22/06/2011 18:55

Oh and she has already achieved the sats level that is expected at end of year six. So even if she made no progress next year I'd be happy that she would do ok in her sats.

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sunnyday123 · 22/06/2011 19:08

i'd move her back as the secondary is most imp imo and 30 min bus ride is crazy!

veritythebrave · 22/06/2011 19:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Lonnie · 22/06/2011 19:27

at what point does she have to be in the new school (old school)

Where I live it is for October but many places it is for January.., if you have a January intake i would wait until end of December to move her. if not then I think i would move her and get a tutor if possible to challenge her at home

Original poster

VivaLeBeaver · 22/06/2011 19:32

Unfortunately she has to be there in oct. Right we're going to plough on and move her back to the old school as planned. Shed be upset if she didn't go back as she's excited about it now. And like you say secondary is more important. Thanks.

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jgbmum · 22/06/2011 20:18

IME as a parent, a school in special measures is "better" than one with a notice to improve because once in special measures huge amounts of resources are thrown at the school, all teaching is rigorously assessed and improvements can happen really quickly.

KoolAidKid · 22/06/2011 20:28

I think you've made the right decision. Secondary is much more important than primary if she's already at the level she needs to be. And school is as much about friendships and social life as education, especially for a teenager living in a village with poor public transport links.

HarrietJones · 22/06/2011 21:21

If it's not maintained it's satisfactory, heads may roll too...

Original poster

VivaLeBeaver · 22/06/2011 21:41

Well if the head gets booted out it will be no loss IMHO, head was brought in after the first crap inspection and has been totally ineffective.

I hear that several teachers are looking for new jobs. Just worried the good ones will go and who would want to come and work in a special measures school?

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swash · 23/06/2011 11:17

Yes I would move her back. But I would put effort into her learning at home so that she doesn't get too bored.

IslaValargeone · 23/06/2011 11:23

So how would their admissions policy operate if a child was Home educated at primary level, and then wanted to go to school for the secondary years then?
It would have to be based on where you live surely?

Original poster

VivaLeBeaver · 23/06/2011 11:29

If a child was home educated the chances are they wouldn't get in. Its teh only school in the city that has this admission policy, all the other schools do it on where you live.

Their admission policy goes like this;

Kids in public care
children with a sibling at the school
Priority will be given to children from the following schools; names 8 or 9 primary schools. 4)Distance from the school

Now this school is 7 miles from our village. However that and the other crap result secondary school are both 7 miles from our village. So its the joint nearest secondary school to me, give or take a couple of hundred yards.

But as we live so far away there is no way we'd get a place unless we meet criteria number 3 - being at a named primary school. The secondary school is in the city so after kids from Criterias 1-3 have been offered places it fills up with kids from the city.

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Mumwithadragontattoo · 24/06/2011 11:13

You don't have much of a choice really. I think it has to be the village primary esp as DD is looking forward to it. Hopefully the special measures thing will be a kick up the backside for the head and weak teachers. Do you know who the class teacher will be? This will be more important to your child (as she'll only be there for one year) than what happens in the school generally. Would also say to carry on giving her stretching stuff to do at home as she seems to bright.

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