How important is the Ofsted grading?

[reddaisy]

We are renting at the moment in a catchment of an outstanding primary which is talked of very highly locally. We are planning to move two miles away but the nearest primary there is satisfactory with some good aspects. How much does this really matter? I want her to have friends who live close by but obviously I want her to receive the best education she can.

(DD doesn't start until Sept 2013).

Some OFSTED gradings are accurate - some aren't.

You really need to find out a lot more about the school then just the grading.

The best thing to do is to visit the actual schools. My children used to be at a satisfactory with good aspects school and I chose it over schools considered better by OFSTED because of the vibe I got when I went round the school. I often wonder why there are 3 positive gradings (Outstanding, Good, Satisfactory) but only one bad grading because it makes satisfactory seem quite a low grading when it is in fact good.

It's worth reading the OFSTED report and finding out why it's considered good/satisfactory. Our old school would never be outstanding because of issues like attendance and results but my children left with good results both academically, socially and spiritually so I am happy with it.