School rated 'good' but Ofsted mainly focused on how school is massively disadvantaged and children have very low levels on entry to Y1 in CLL...

[working9while5]

There's no choice for ds1 in schools in our area as all other schools are oversubscribed and this 'good' school is nearest to us.

I'm concerned at the sheer level of focus on disadvantage, communication, language and literacy in the Ofsted. I'm a speech therapist and it sounds like a genuinely good school for students with limited communication on school entry but I am worried about what this might mean for ds1.

He's no genius, just a very average four year old in terms of peers at his current nursery but he has reasonable school entry skills e.g. all the social/self-care/play stuff, counts with correspondence to 20, has phoneme-grapheme correspondence on about 6 letters of interest to him, age appropriate language and conceptual development yada yada.

I've worked in disadvantaged schools for years and I suppose I know that in practical terms teachers have to teach broadly to the level of the class though there's always differentiation. I just worry slightly he's not going to have an appropriate level of challenge if it is like it is in many of the schools I visit where the reception aged kids were non-talkers by 2 and a half and are only at a basic level in terms of language on school entry which is what the whole Ofsted focuses on.

I feel uncomfortable about feeling uncomfortable if that makes sense. I'm not looking to hothouse him etc, I just don't want him to feel bored as I worry that will lead to bad behaviour etc.

Any reassurances or are my worries well-founded?

What OFsted focus on is the progress that children make in relation to their starting points. This means for all children not just the disadvantaged ones. All children be they SN or very able, have to make this progress for a school to be graded as good.

Having said that I do think that OFSTED reports have to be taken with a bit of a pinch of salt.

Visit the school and see if you can guage opinion from parents who already have DCs at the school.

I think if he's average he will definitely be ok. My 2 ds go to a similar school. My ds1 had a terrible time being at the bottom of the class until I moved him into another class which is 95% ESL and many are also unsupportive parents. He is now thriving emotionally at the middle of the class (Y3). There's a lot of the ESL kids who are very clever, so I don't think it precludes intelligence or teaching that 'stretches'.

Ds2 is very clever and only now in YR but the teacher is great, really pushing him where he needs to. I don't think a school would get a 'good' if it didn't cater to all the kids. The main difficulty I have felt is that my ds1 has certain learning difficulties that it's been difficult to spot in amongst a lot of high need children.

If you are fairly confident in your ds's ability, I wouldn't worry at all. I think the benefits of being able to mix with kids from different cultures is worth it.

I'm not worried about ESL at all if I'm honest, more the very disadvantaged white kids. If you're not speaking English on school entry you'll catch up in a year or so but if you're not speaking because your home is chaotic and no one speaks to you it's a different story. We used to go to Stay and Play at the CC in the school and there were a lot of people clearly struggling, screaming/roaring/social service family support workers etc. I stopped going when ds2 was born as it was just so bloody rough.

I work in schools like this and I feel for all concerned... but I'm worried about him being in that set up. I hate that I am, it goes against all my best liberal sensibilities etc... but I didn't like the vibe in those groups.

It probably sounds pathetic but it's just not what I expected or wanted for my kids. I grew up attending a small country school that was like a home from home and now here my kids are heading to a three-form entry massive urban disadvantaged school.

I guess it depends on the mix of kids tbh. I wouldn't feel comfortable either if they were predominantly as you describe. More from a social point of view, what kind of friends my kids were making. Not being snobby at all - all my ds1's friends are ESL but from lovely, kind families.

From an academic and emotional perspective, it could be good for your ds to be nearer the top of the class. This can do a lot for confidence. And the teachers do tend to push the top ones more (it seems a lot of people on MN moan about the 'average majority' who don't get the right amount of encouragement).

OP, go and see - really.

I was so nervous when dd1 started primary, for similar reasons - but it's all worked out beautifully, and the reassurance started when I went to look around, talked to the Head, met some of the older children (very mixed cohort, but clearly engaged and excited about learning - and when I say 'mixed', I mean 'mixed': there were ALL sorts of kids, including one or two exceptionally bright ones in each class).

You'll know when you are there, or at least have a good idea

Perhaps the CC stay and play had a higher proportion of struggling families eg because parents less likely to be working so around during the day, families targeted for home-start style support and encouraged to come, financially-struggling families less able to pay through the nose for baby ballet/jo jingles/mandarin lessons so going along to free or heavily subsidised play sessions at CC. I'd see the CC at the school being part of a concerted initiative to balance out early disadvantage tbh, rather than an indicator of the social spread of the school.

Also, as a speech therapist, do you think it skews your view a little? I often view my children's lives and social circles through the goggles of my specialism like it's the only issue and the key to life the universe and everything. I have to really force myself to see a wider, balanced picture instead of focusing on the issues of my former profession, but its hard because I am so used to seeing the tragic cases where things have failed.

The only proper way to form an opinion on the school and its population is to go and look at the school.