Why would there be an issue with an 'outstanding' school?

[MacMac123]

Hi, long term lurker and occasional poster!
Just a question.
Why do some people have issues when a school is said to be outstanding, as in it might not be? Ie, on another topic, someone has said 'and don't even get me started on 'outstanding' schools' as though that would be a debate in itself.
Why?
Are ofsted thought to not get things right? What would be problem/issue be!?

Our local school is 'Outstanding' and to be fair it is a pretty good school. However, it is very large and has a reputation for catering to the majority. Great for an 'average' or conventionally bright child, but if your child has relatively minor (but still significant) additional needs, e.g. dyslexia, then they may not get the help they need.

OP, sadly no. There is no way a school will get outstanding if its results (ie improvement in scores between KS1 and KS2 - this is the current key statistic) are below a certain level, even if there is a good reason for this (such as kids with SEN).

This is sensible advice from an Ofsted inspector

"A 20 minute observation can only tell part of the story so what else needs to be taken into account? In a nutshell it must relate to students’ progress over time. As a result the quality of teaching judgement links closely to the judgement on achievement. If a ‘good’ or even ‘outstanding’ lesson does not lead to good or better progress over time, then it follows that the quality of teaching is likely to require improvement. "

But what worries me is that those judgements of good or outstanding, either by Ofsted inspectors or by senior colleagues, are usually based on lessons which have been prepared with umpteen times more care, detail and time than a non-observed lesson, because nobody has time to do that for every single lesson. What is the point of setting these benchmarks in such an unrealistic way?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-24079951

teacherroar.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/can-tribal-inspections-be-trusted.html

Yes - I don't trust Ofsted and I don't bew in their criteria. And yet, I'm looking to move to a different part of the country soon, and what am I looking at to judge potential schools for my dc? Ofsted gradings.

Ahem - don't 'believe' in their criteria.

Those links are very interesting, thanks for posting them.

Wow - just wow. It sounds like we should run a mile from 'outstanding'!

I don't think people should run a mile from outstanding schools at all. Just that you shouldn't assume that the best schools/only schools worth considering for your child are the outstanding ones. And that you should understand that an outstanding grade is only part of the picture of assessing a school.

It's not about running from Ofsted. It's just that you have about as much chance of finding the right school for your children by using Ofsted reports as you have randomly sticking a pin in a map.

Some schools genuinely are outstanding. Some I wouldn't touch with a barge pole and it worries me that some of the schools with outstanding rating are used as teaching schools for the next generation of teachers. Some of the strategies they will learn are questionable at best.

Some Ofsted outstanding schools are really good.

And some Ofsted good schools are truly outstanding

... and some are a disgrace to education and teaching.

dd was school refuser at 2 outstanding primaries
loved the special measures primary, got level 5's and passed 11+
that was the one that recognised sen like dd's social anxiety and dealt with her appropriately