Anyone else horrified by the Secondary School they've been allocated?

[alsoaperson]

DD1 has been given a (state) Secondary that's hitting 50% 5 A-C in a nice, middle class area (i.e. coasting). I don't think they push the kids and teaching is patchy. The more I hear about it, the more horrified I am.
There are no better schools I can appeal to.
I'm considering moving house, going to Church and trying to get the other two into a feeder school for the excellent local(ish) faith school. But it's going to mean a lot of upset including moving schools for all three - assuming I can get DD into the faith school in Y9. (& yes, there were good reasons I couldn't do this earlier, unfortunately).
I am a private tutor, English teacher and part time pushy parent. I have some free time to help them (& can do most subjects), but not so much because I need to pay the bills.
Anyone else had this? What did you do?

My first thoughts are a. what does your dd think about it and will she have/be able to make friends there? b. when was Ofsted last in? c. who are you hearing the information about not pushing children and patchy teaching from?

I dont get your problem with the 50% thing.

Why do you care how other kids do? Surely you only care how your DC does?

50% passing means if your DC are in the top half of their year group they should pass.

Is there any reason to think your child won't pass?

The only thing that's relevant is how your child will do. And without a crystal ball you can't tell which school will be best for your child.

Thanks! Gives me a bit of perspective on this.

My real issue isn't with the 50%, it's the fact the value added is bad - i.e. kids go in and progress less than average (at all abilities including the highest). The sixth form it feeds into is worse.

I'm getting my info from current kids and parents at the school, OFSTED (two years ago) and their latest results.

Yes, all his friends are going there - which is the glowing star in the haystack. I think he'll really like having his friends so that's why I'm reluctant to uproot.

But my fear is he'll get bored (he's bright) and start to be naughty. I've seen the same set up with both my brothers (middle class area, coasting school), both of whom flunked.

Also: I don't just want him to pass! I want him to do the best he can with the support and help he needs! But should I separate him from friends in order to do it?

I'm really torn.

The 50% thing would worry me too actually, as I think the culture and ethos of a school is very important. IME pupils are more comfortable putting their hand up in class, diligently doing homework and revising if their peers are all doing that too. If there is a significant percentage who aren't hard working and conscientious then the bright children quickly learn not to put their head above the parapet.

The negative reviews from existing parents and pupils would be the final straw - they are the ones best placed to give you an accurate picture of what's going on.

Oh, and I wouldn't think twice about separating him from his friends. There aren't many amongst us who are still best friends with our primary school buddies. Indeed, most children head off to secondary with a group of friends and promptly make a whole load of new ones anyway.

If you change schools he will make new friends. If you leave him where he is there is very little you can do to counter rubbish teaching (and short-term tuition to troubleshoot problem areas can not negate the effects of six hours of rubbish teaching imo).

Our catchment and local school sounds similar to yours. In our case we had the financial means to go private but even if we hadn't we would still be happy-ish with the state alternative.

If your/our school was in a deprived area with social problems, violence, disruptive kids and the like then I obviously wouldn't be so sanguine about it. As it is, the only thing that I am unhappy with is that it isn't as pushy as I would like. This can be compensated for by putting aside some hours at the weekend for home tuition.

It obviously isn't ideal but at the same time, it isn't that bad.

So helpful! Thanks for this.

tiggytape Where we live, a lot of people move schools mid-way, but I think you're making an excellent point that if the school I'm aiming for is so amazing (which it is), parents will cling onto it for dear life. Going to go away and think about this. The feeder schools that do have places will likely be less good - even awful - so I'd end up with a whole new set of issues...

adeaculione such a good point about six hours rubbish teaching - and if his peers aren't working then he'll be uncomfortable about being the swot, then I guess he'll have problems with peer groups anyway.

I'm going to go away and do research into feeder schools. I feel like I must do something about this. DD doesn't make new friends easily so I'm very worried about moving him, but I'm trying to balance that against the fact the school is bad - and I have two more kids to consider, who'll find the move easier.

Like most (single) parents I need to work very hard already, so having this on my plate too is stressing me out!

Did anyone else try to solve this problem? Any more thoughts or experiences?

Thanks to all x

MTSGroupie - it's not a deprived school - so I'm not actually panicking - but it's a lazy culture... I'm worried he'll get infected.

Now I'm wondering, if I am lucky enough to turn him into 'the swot', is that such a bad thing? Or maybe this is more about my own issues!!

alsoaperson

The sun will always rise.

I have to laugh at your post worrying about a 50% pass rate. The school that my son will be going to has a lower pass rate. Parental support makes a bigger difference than the school.

Hold tight and put your child on the waiting list for the school you want.

It might be worth looking into the school's test results (this year's league table results) and sending an email to the head of the school's governors asking her what her plan is (I'm assuming that she has one.) Her reply might make you feel better.

I agree with the other posters above - if your DD is bright, she could have a chance to shine.....

I went to a school that was considered "poor" and came out with a clutch of As (no A* when I went!) I found myself at the top - and thrived on it! I was chosen for so many things - school council, sports teams, spelling teams, debating teams - I felt good about myself and was always striving to be the best to stay there at the top!

Could be the best school for her!

Working hard and slogging away at HW aren't the be all and end all of childhood.

Whatever Ofsted say progress doesn't matter at all. Value add is just a number. It's a meaning less one with a huge margin of error and many ways to fiddle it.

Only two things matter that your child is happy and that your child gets good grades.

If you are an English teacher you can help with CAs which are the things that freak me out.

Honestly with good revision text books and bite size everything else except MFL are doable. French is the one thing I may consider getting DD2 a tutor for as neither DH or I know enough.

Sixth form may be more of a problem, but with everyone having to stay on to 18 I think a lot will change there in five years.

also - turning your DCs into swots is only a bad thing if it is to the exclusion of everything else :)

One can be a swot and still have time for sports, tv or just chilling out with mates.

I understand you wanting the bset possible education for your DC. However, did you not see this coming prior to making an application? Which school did you actually apply for, and why were you turned down? Can you go on the waiting list for that school?

Also the idea of trying to get into a faith school at this stage is going to be very difficult, IMO. You don't say if you are even religious? Faith schools are not stupid, they come across parents going to church purely for a school place all the time. Are your children baptised? Have you had any involvement in church prior to your school dilemma? My DD has been allocated a place at a faith school, she is baptised, has been attending church since she was a baby and goes to the feeder faith primary school. She would not have got a place if we had started going to church just a few months ago, and were not already committed to faith education via the primary school. Lastly, if you are not particularly religious but just trying to get a place at a good school, that may well be at the expense of a child who is genuinely religious. That's not on in IMO. Sorry.

I don't think there's any need to berate the OP for thinking through her options.

Fair enough, Learnandsay, but she did ask for our 'thoughts and experiences'.

I think there's every need to berate people planning to lie and scheme to gain an advantage over dcs who really do meet admission criteria!

Op - get on the waiting lists for schools you like and remember there is actually more to life than GCSE results. As your dcs hit teenage years you may start to realise that the key thing is that a school produces happy, confident and secure pupils.

She didn't say she was planning to lie and cheat. She said she was thinking about going to church. Faith schools in our area have several sets of criteria for entry and depending on how far away from the school you live you might have to get a letter of introduction from the vicar. If you live close to the school you don't have to be religious or attend church at all. It all depends on how the school's admission policy works. Thinking about it isn't planning to lie or cheat. It's just common sense.

At our local faith school the requirement was that you had to be a regular church goer for the past 3 years which, judging from what has been said upthread, is a very relaxed admission criteria.

Even so, we didn't think that we could feign faith for three years so we went for Plan B ie pulled out the cheque book.

Thanks so much guys! You're giving me a lot to think about - all of it really helpful.

Re Faith Schools: kids are baptised, so am I and so is my husband. We were attending church every week before we had a crisis.
Briefly: my husband did bad with one of his female students (repeatedly), was fired for gross misconduct and banned from the teaching profession. I ended up separated (now in process of getting divorced), and propelled back into work. I had a serious crisis of faith as a result but am getting back on track now.

Re Why didn't I think of this earlier - that's a great question to ask. I think because I was working 60 hours a week (husband wasn't - and isn't - paying me a penny of maintenance). This meant I wasn't on top of kids' schools in the way that I should have been.

I thought I'd have a little bit of therapy on here today!

Not all faith schools have a ridicolous strict entry criteria. Its worth looking at the LEA website to see which schools have spare spaces in the area.

It sounds like you've had a tough time OP. Please don't feel that you have to justify your choices and decisions on here. You are not the first person to be disappointed with your allocated school, or to be belatedly considering options that some might consider drastic, and you won't be the last.

If it is possible to move in order to access a better school then I personally would do that, but if it is a tall order then your DC will be absolutely fine because they have a lovely mum who's really looking out for them.

Alsoperson - if you've had a crisis of faith and want to get back involved with the Church do go and talk to the Vicar - if he/she is any good they'll be able to help (and if they aren't church shop until you find one that is!). It may be that the younger ones can end up at a faith school and you look at making sure the older one transfers somewhere else for 6th form.
TBH - it doesn't sound like a 'terrible' school and I suspect your DD will be fine. Moving is an upheaval but people do it and the world doesn't stop turning.
You've clearly had an incredibly crap time of it so don't beat yourself up about the school.