Ofsted- parent questionaire to a parent/teacher- honest or not?

[mumnosbest]

i teach at my dcs school which isn't doing too well. As a rteacher i know how much hard work has been put in by most for the last year. im happy with my dcs ar the moment though feel i might need to move them within the next couple of years (when ds goes into ks2). however im also very aware of the schools shortcomings and as a parent have concerns.

do i A) fill in the questionaire honestly as a parent but make my job much harder.
B) not voice my concerns to the detriment of my dcs (and others.
C) move my children to a bwtter school and avoid the conflict in future.

WWYD?

A

I think C , but that doesnt help you in the short term. id be honest, Im sure if you were a lone voice it wont make any difference, but it sounds as if you are not a lone voice.

Speaking as a teacher in a school that has just come out of 'cause for concern' the pain support we had this year has actually helped the school and things are now much better, so it will help for everyone to be honest and not paper over the cracks

Definitely A

A sod your job think of the children

In what way do you think it will make your job harder by exposing the school's areas for development?

Always A I would say.

thanks for your quick replies. we are already a school in special measures and have had lots of support along with numerous observations (in which i did well - smug). the areas im concerned about are also area qhich really should have been and needed to be adressed.

alot of our parents have and will continue to vote with their feet rather than filling in the questionnaire.

MWB22 another poor ofsted would mean more monitoring, observations etc or maybe even school closure?

Not meaning to sound flippant, but if it is an area the school needs to work on why are they not getting on a dealing with it? The issue will be uncovered whether you report it or not. You've obviously had to work even harder with all the additional support for being in special measures, but surely it is an issue you want addressed for all the children and for your professional pride.

thanks tiggy . i know you're right. just the thought of another year of hard work and observations is awful. i know my teaching is fine, i got all goods, its just unfair when not everyone pulls their weight and management are shit aren't quite up to the challenge.

I filled one in, honestly. It was apparently anonymous.

DD's teacher asked to have a quick word with me after school to ask me a bit more about some of my responses

I agree it is unfair, but the children deserve teachers like you, not the ones who are not pulling their weight / SLT and outing them may be the way forwards????

"DD's teacher asked to have a quick word with me after school to ask me a bit more about some of my responses"


I suggest you contact OFSTED about that one, as I don't know how they accessed who the responses came from. I know we can see responses, but certainly not who completed them.

i dont think id feel happy if i let things go,especially knowing others wont bother.

moaning thats terrible! that could cause real trouble for me :(

I got my own back

I became a governor

She saw my response because I sent it back in an envelope with DD, although I hadn't put my name on it.

When she asked me about it though, I was totally stunned. All I could think was 'I don't want to discuss it with you! It was anonymous!'

But TBF I only mentioned things that I had already raised with the teacher, which remained a concern for me. So I did feel a bit - look if you had sorted out XYZ I wouldn't be putting them on the form.

I don't think OFSTED read them. When dd1 was in reception I wrote a very careful critique of their reading programme (they didn't let children go above ORT level 3 in reception-dd1 was reading Famous Five at that point). I know at least one other parent wrote almost identical critical comments.

When the letter to the children came out it stated along the lines of: There was not one negative comment from parents.
I had enough confidence in the management of the school to be certain that our questionaires hadn't been tampered with, so my conclusion is that no one had read my comments.

our governors were 1 of our weak points so dont really want to join them!

Phew, Moaning! I thought you were refering to the online version, but still if you made it clear on the envelope it was the OFSTED questionnaire not a holiday request form or an absence letter I am pretty disappointed in the school opening and reading it. I'm also amazed at their gaul at discussing your responses to a confidential questionnaire!

I went for B as I thought other parents were really critical of the school and I wanted to support it.

School got an outstanding in the event, and I was annoyed with myself for not raising a concern when I had the opportunity and might have had my question answered.

So I would definitely go for A, but maybe phrase it carefully as a question rather than a criticism.

A

A - You must tell the truth.

'our governors were 1 of our weak points so dont really want to join them!'
Oh dear - now you must become a Governor to improve the school.

I don't envy you, mumnosbest ... this sort of problem is precisely why my children don't attend my school!

i really dont have the time to be a governor and wouldnt know where to start! im already moving year groups to share good practices but i think management is moving school in the wrong direction and further alienating staff and parents.