School in Special measures. WWYD?

[pennycan]

Got report last week of recent Ofsted inspection, scored 4 Inadequate in every area except Behaviour and safety of pupils. DS is in Y5 so not sure what to do for the best. I don't think he will benefit from any changes made at this late stage but would changing school help for 1 year. He likes the school and all his mates are there so is it worth the disruption? The secondary he will go onto is 'Outstanding', so will they catch him up or will he be left behind?

Any thoughts gratefully received.

Out of interest, what were the results of the previous inspection?

I'd leave him
No doubt they'll get loads of dosh & help to improve things

The school will be under a microscope now so things will have to change and fast. Don't assume that all staff are poor teachers either, it is usually just a couple and they quite often abandon ship asap. The school will have a lot of support from local 'experts'. If your son is happy there then leave him, monitor what he is doing closely, is he making progress/being challenged/ needs are being met? If so then you shouldn't have an issue. We were put in special measures and the White washing and assumptions that all teaching was poor were demoralising, thankfully our parents stuck by us (only 1 or2 left). Personally during that inspection all my lessons were good with outstanding features, they don't report that part.

Do you mind me asking where in the country you are and what the results of the previous inspection were?

If he's happy and you're happy with this progress, don't even think about moving him.

The previous inspection was satisfactory which we knew about but we liked the school when we visited. We are in the south of England.
The problem is he has always struggled at school with dyslexia being mentioned at various point but no actual diagnosis. This is making me wonder if he has a problem at all, perhaps it is just the teaching.

Well, there's this 'tough, new' Ofsted framework which is very data driven. I wouldn't use it to judge a school, to be honest.

I would stick with my sense of a school before Ofsted came along and focus on whether your son is progressing or not. If you're concerned that he is dyslexic and that's not being properly picked up, then speak with his teacher and head if necessary about a proper assessment for that.

Which child are you talking about being dyslexic? Have you met with the SENCO? the trouble is some local authorities don't recognise dyslexia (awful I know but true). What provisions are in place to support him? Has he had any outside agencies look at him? Some children show dyslexic tendencies but not severe enough to have anymore than iep and a programme like catch up being used. Has he made adequate progress, if not what are his targets and what are the school doing about it?

Hi Pennycan. My sons school was put in special measures but was secondary. My point is he thrived at the school, gained 3 levels in science in one term. The school went from the one everyone avoided to over subscribed. A super head came in and inspections were regular. I think your son will see the benefits as previously stated. They have to improve and quickly. I would advise the same with the assessment. I am dyslexic and I think it unfair that in FE/ HE students are diagnosed without asking for assessment when primary assessment happens after a battle. If I was worried about one of mine I know it's expensive but I would go private. The dyslexic foundation I think thats the name have a website and lots of advice about diagnosis. Good luck and don't worry, the school will improve in time to make a difference to your son, I'm sure.

Thank you for all the replies, it is good to hear things should happen quickly now. He has had IEPs since he was 5 but there never seems to be much follow through. I think we will just have to be on his back from now on, we have taken our eyes off the ball in the last couple of years.

Pennycan, often when a school is put into the Special Measures category a lot of the staff (including the Head) will change, all staff will be under close scrutiny and many lessons will be observed each and every week, by the Senior Leadership Team and also by the Local Authority. There will probably be a link with another school (an Outstanding School) where perhaps the Head of that school will spend time coaching the school through this turbulent time. Staff will probably have access to resources and training and knowledge from this other school and basically everyone will be pulling out all the stops to improve things as quickly and as much as they possibly can. You will probably notice the actual look of the school changing a bit, new displays, a good spring clean, a bit of gardening, classrooms looking better etc etc. The staff will be targetted relentlessly with things they need to introduce/improve or get rid of. All in all things can change quite quickly, but realistically it will probably take about 18 months to 2 years to actually get out of Special Measures. So for your son, the school will probably remain in SM while he is there, but a huge amount of change will happen and with him being in Year 5 the school will be under the microscope about improving results for this year and next year's SATs, so he may well make some huge leaps over the next 4 terms that he has left as there will probably be a lot more support available. So my advice would be don't give up on it, I'd let him stay with his friends, I'd let the school know that you as a parent are compeletely behind them and supporting them. I'd support my child in whatever way I could with regard to homework and generally supporting his education at home. And I suspect that his last year and a half at this prmary will be the best he's had! Have you noticed any of these things happening already? Are there lots of new staff etc?

What JellyBelly10 said.

My school is in special measures and the amount of change and everything mentioned above is exactly how it is for us.

I would leave him where he is.

Jellybelly, haven't noticed any changes yet but they did make him redo his homework because it was too messy, so maybe that is the start of a new attitude.
Thanks for the information, I think we have decided to keep him there and just keep a closer eye on how he is getting on.