Would you be concerned about Ofstead report?

[2isamagicnumber]

My understanding of ofstead reports is a bit limited so wondered if anyone can share their thoughts.

The local primary school where my son will start in 2014 has just had a terrible ofstead report. They have gone from grade 1, outstanding, in pretty much all areas to grade 3, requires improvement.

Obviously I am concerned as to the dramatic change. Has anyone sent their child to a school where this has happened?

[CaterpillarCara]

This is the best answer: "I would not advise Ofsted as your ONLY source of information about a school. Just that completely ignoring it, in favour of even less well-founded information, seems like overkill! It's from putting together scraps of information - Ofsted, league table sorted by value add (not by absolute results), any truly knowledgeable parents, an in-depth personal visit etc - that the best possible picture can be obtained."

A few years back, my children were at a school which got an unexpectedly low Ofsted grade. There were several public meetings about what they were doing about it. Keep an eye on their website, if they are holding something go along and listen, see what you think.

[Tanith]

If it helps at all, "Requires Improvement" used to be "Satisfactory".

There are several things that have happened since the school's last inspection. We have a new Government and Education minister; Ofsted have been privatised and have a new, much more politically active head; the criteria for Outstanding has been made much tougher; staff and schools are demoralised to the extent that their unions are organising a strike later this year.

Lots of schools and Early Years settings are being downgraded quite dramatically.

Read the report, visit the school and see how you feel yourself about how they do things and what is said. The Ofsted report is just a fraction of the input that will inform your choice: don't let it assume more importance than it deserves.

[12345Floris]

Ignore it. When I applied for my son's Reception place his school had been Outstanding since 2008... but they only graded it again in 2013 and it went 'down' to Good. Report mentions unusual transience of teachers and that may have affected the standards. But as 4 out of 6 teachers left, on closer research, you discover the reasons were plausible ones - pregnancy, moving abroad, career ambition, etc.

It's my nearest school and having looked around the place the Ofsted grade is of no interest to me. I try to remember that I went to a Catholic primary on (what was then) a Watford sink estate, and my partner ditto equivalent in his town, yet we have both gone through the education system fine.

[junkfoodaddict]

Curlew - Though parents have not witnessed lessons, they certainly have more contact with a school than an OFSTED inspector. Lessons are inspected for only 20 minutes and in that time a teacher's ability to teach, children's ability to learn, achieve and their overall attainment is judged.
The inspector who came into my lesson (judged good with some outstanding features) was apparently able to tell me that my children's attainment was good, they achieved above expectations and my teaching was described as good. Yes, she gave me some pointers to make it outstanding (it had to do with my TA, but it all depended on whether the TA did as I asked - she didn't!). As it turned out, I made a huge error on the reading material and the inspector didn't even see it yet she felt qualified to commend me for the different ways in which I presented the reading and the content of it!!! On another OFSTED inspection, the team presented their findings about a Y3 class when it was a Y4 class.
That is why I cannot take an OFTSED report seriously. If ours are flawed, how many more are flawed?

[teacherwith2kids]

For all those reasons, I would not advise Ofsted as your ONLY source of information about a school.

Just that completely ignoring it, in favour of even less well-founded information, seems like overkill! It's from putting together scraps of information - Ofsted, league table sorted by value add (not by absolute results), any truly knowledgeable parents, an in-depth personal visit etc - that the best possible picture can be obtained.

And even then, you might choose the 'best school' at a single point in time, and it might be the year that the Reception teacher falls ill, the head leaves, half the SLT retires and there may be a sudden requirement to increase the size of the school by half (or even, in the micro environment of the classroom, a particularly disruptive pupil might affect your particular child's learning). Schools don't stay static, they are evolving communities

[teacherwith2kids]

(Spat in the head's face, screamed at staff, forgot things from one moment to another, demanded things they already had and had a meltdown when told that, just shouting louder and louder that they needed it and if it wasn't provided the school would fail..... )

[teacherwith2kids]

Hula,

It of course depends on the size of the school - when a small school is inspected, because there are fewer classes then inspectors do see full lessons, often several by the same teacher. I was lucky (got away with most of 1 lesson) but one of my colleagues was observed for 4 hours in total over 2 days!

Would entirely agree that it does depend on the team / the individual inspector, though. I do know of one school inspected where the staff described the lead inspector as 'apparently insane'!

[Hulababy]

Yes I understand that. I guess those some parents do have a clearer insight into how individual schools work though ESP those with children in different year groups, or friends using the school in diff years, an obviously working in re same sector locally will always help. Ofsted is definitely not all bad -my own school recently went up from 3 to 2 with lots of outstanding features and it was thoroughly justified - but they are limited. There really is not the time for inspectors to see everything and is very hard to make clear accurate judgements based on 20 min on a classroom midway through a topic or project ESP in terms of how much very single child is making progress. That really needs far longer periods of observation and taken over a longer time period such as weeks. But reality is ofsted are in for a couple of days or so, see fragments of lessons and dot really see the full picture. Therefore they are limited in what they are judging on.

And you know - the inspectors vary loads too. Sometimes you can have a really great team, others can be dreadful. Have experienced both and the latter means no matter what you do your doomed.

[Hulababy]

By the way the parent I know with a child at this school is also a primary school teacher herself. She's done a fair bit of supply over the past years too so has seen and worked in a number of schools in the same area. Likewise I work in an infant school not too far away and have friends with children in local schools as well.

[Hulababy]

Know of school in question and have asked friend who's child has just left y6 and was there all way through. Will reply via PM later but for some reason not letting me via phone.

Safe to say though that her and her son's experience there was all very positive. They've just got very good y6 results and all feels v good. They def still recommend the school. Think downgrading in ofsted was a surprise.

[curlew]

"Why would you take what 3 professional who look at reports that do not take into account the background of the children and only take into account the 'national average child' and how they compare."

That's not what they do. The stats are much more complicated than that.

[wheredidiputit]

Why would you take what 3 professional who look at reports that do not take into account the background of the children and only take into account the 'national average child' and how they compare. And not the parents whose child go to the school and they see how it is on a daily basis.

[exoticfruits]

I wouldn't dismiss it on the parent in the playground! I would treat it with a certain amount of scepticism and see for myself. I haven't been too impressed by some of the 'professional' people who have spent a mere 2days in the school.

[breatheslowly]

Curlew - in my case a parent in the playground was able to put the Ofsted report in context in terms of school leadership and provide an update on the school leadership in the year that has elapse since the report. That isn't dismissing the Ofsted report, just recognising that the report is a snapshot of that particular time and that the report is, understandably, unable to explain the personal circumstances of the HT.

Similarly I knew from friends that the other school that has recently been downgraded was certainly not an outstanding school for the whole of the 5 years between the outstanding report and the satisfactory one.

[curlew]

It always amuses me when people dismiss the findings of 3 professional people who have spent two days in a school, watched lessons across the year group, read parental questionnaires, looked at all the paperwork and talked to the Head in depth, but are happy with listening to a parent they met in the playground who filled them on all the local schools......

[wheredidiputit]

If the school in a category then it will have another visit in about a year to check on improvements are being made.

For example my dc school previous visit was 'good'. The last Ofsted visit (under old scheme) was put into 'require improvement.' having sat through a Governor meeting the inspector was very bias towards the school. Within 6 months we had an interim visit and the inspector would have taken us out of category if he could. The most recent inspection we are now 'Good with outstanding features'.

There have not been any major changes to teaching with in the school but the inspector took notice of the children backgrounds (deprived area, lots known to various agencies) and the progress the children are making.

One of my children went to an 'outstanding' school for nursery provision and there was no way she would have gone to the school as it was the most unwelcoming/friendly place. Every told me not to send her to the school she is at. But atmosphere within the school is very welcoming and friendly.

So no I wouldn't take an Ofsted report as the be all and end all of information about the school.

[exoticfruits]

I would visit the school on a normal working day- make sure you see everything and go with a list of questions and see whether you get satisfactory replies.
I am sceptical about Ofsted- you can do very well with perfect paperwork. I know a Head who got outstanding for leadership and yet is a nightmare to work for and not too good with children but is a whizz at the paperwork!

[junkfoodaddict]

I do not take OFSTED reports into account when choosing a school. My school was graded 3 because 2 temporary teachers and 1 supply teachers were graded 3 in their teaching and a 21% increase in 2 years wasn't seen as 'good enough'. The inspector admitted the inspection was political and that we were never going to get a grade 2 because the inspection was done in SATs week and weeks before the results were known. He knew that we were on target to get good results but he seemed fixated on thse 3 teachers. Nevertheless, our results came (87.9% in reading and writing and 81% in maths), our writing was externally moderated TWICE, we had our visit from our monitoring inspector who was 'shocked' at our grading and said we had achieved our targets for October already and to 'give her a ring' if we needed amy help or advice!?!?

On the otherhand, my child's local schools (all 3) are graded as Outstanding (grade 1) and I have doubts as to whether I want my child going to 2 of them because they are known to be pushy with the academics, less favourable with the SEN kids and several parents of children with SEN have been 'forced out'. Not an Outstanding school in my view!

[breatheslowly]

I didn't know anyone with children at our local school, but I met a parent in the playground who was able to fill me in on one of the schools. If bumping into someone to ask doesn't work then try MN local boards.

[2isamagicnumber]

Thanks for everyone's opinions. I don't currently know any parents with children at the school so can't gauge their opinions.

Trying to think positively part of me agrees with breatheslowly. At least my son is not due to start until next year so it does give time for the issues to be addressed.

I have also heard that ofstead will be back at the school in February.

[breatheslowly]

We've had a couple of schools locally which were outstanding and have had recent satisfactory/requires improvement ratings. Both have had problems with getting/keeping headteachers, but now have recruited heads who look like they will stay and sort the schools out. My DD has 2 years until she starts school. Having given this a lot of though, I actually think this could be a positive for DD who is due to start school in 2 years. Instead of joining a school that is coasting gradually downwards, resting on its laurels from the 5 year old outstanding grading, she will be joining a school on the up.

[teacherwith2kids]

Nenny,

But results can be (largely) a function of intake - hence why sorting the 'league tables' by absolute scores and by added value give COMPLTELY different orders. And other parents only have knowledge of their own school for their own child and are unlikely to be wholly objective about an institution that they have chosen to send their children to (I mean, I have wholly different views of THE SAME school for 2 different children only 2 years apart and roughly similar in ability ... how different can another parent's view be of a school for their child, of a different age and possibly quite different from mine, also coloured by the parent's own view on what is important in education...

I know that Ofsted isn't perfect. In some cases, it is used for political ends. Some inspectors have insufficient knowledge or experience of the type of institution that they are inspecting (in most cases they work in teams to try to balance out this issue). Some schools play games, because they believe that they know what Ofsted is looking for (these games are not always successful).

However, having a report on a school, against specific benchmarks, from a team of people who have visited many other schools, is of value in the decision making process. Not the only thing of value, but of value.

Certainly of much MORE value than context-free results data - is a school good because its results are good IF the nature of its intake is such that in fact the results should be excellent (but aren't)? Is it poor because of lower results, despite the fact that over 50% of its children start school way below expected level for their age? Are good results obtained through endless rote learning to the test, or are lessons interesting and engaging (OK, Ofsted only view a snapshot - but they also ask pupls whether this is what lessons are typically like, and pounce when there is a disparity)? That's what I read an Ofsted report for - the text, the chat, the non-numerical information, the context that tells you about progress, which is what a good school should be about.

To take a concrete example, our local grammar (taking children in at high Level 5s, at minimum, at the beginning of Y7) gets 100% A to C including English and Maths at GCSE. A comprehensive I know of, in a very challenging area, gets 45% A to C including English and Maths ... but that is from a starting point where well over 50% of pupils arrive with Level 3s or below in English and Maths. Which is the better school? Where do the children make better progress?