Hill House rated unsatisfactory

[jeanne16]

I was shocked to read this. Any parents from Hill House available to comment?

Eh? Plenty of state schools in Clapham and Brixton that would seem to offer a better standard of education. I'd say they are the same.

I love how HillHouse is being sold as a multi-racial school that is representative of London. Big difference when one Mohammed is the son of a millionaire Saudi Arab with a personal tutor at home and another Mohammed who is the son of a family of Somalian refugees whose father has to work 3 jobs just to feed him and leave his mother to try and help him with schoolwork in a language she can neither speak nor read!

Majority of people here have never been even close to HH so I don't understand how they can discuss the ethnical and social mix. Yes some people there are quite rich but majority are hard working ordinary people who work very hard to pay their children's school fees. And yes we are concerned about out children's education, safety and happiness. ( and someone us certainly know what outstanding education looks like). Is HH the perfect school- no, but does the Ofsted report resembles the school we see every day-no! And I certanly believe that the school can improve- just reading the Ofsted report from May 2014 tell us that it can
" Teaching in the school is effective. Teachers show a good understanding of the needs and aptitudes of pupils. Specialist teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge. Lessons are planned well so pupils make progress. The school places a strong emphasis upon attainment; teachers ensure pupils are thoroughly prepared to move on to a secondary school of their choice. Pupils’ attitudes to school are consistently positive. Pupils show an eagerness to learn and to do their best. Pupils’ behaviour is good and relationships between staff and pupils are respectful. This is in accordance with the school’s policy and principles of good behaviour."

'Effective' is OFSTED-speak for 'third rate'

(if comes behind outstanding and good)

A school that only 6% of the population can access, due to financial reasons, is not a school with 'ordinary people' in it.

I think you mean 'satisfactory '. (Used to be 3 in Ofsted speak) or in new Ofsted speak 'requires improvement'

I'm a Londoner and grew up in Chelsea. Hill House is not, has never been and will probably never be representative of London. Only modern Chelsea perhaps, at a push.

I know Somalians that can afford Hill House too, they come from a smaller group of Somalians who are aware of the social and economic problems their community face. They often mix outside their community and both the men and quite often the woman (who escaped early enough) are university educated. They are not representative of the larger group of Somalians that go to state schools though are they?

That's not the issue though is it? The school is failing and the children deserve changes no matter how odd the school is or how priviledged they are.

I think that people are missing the point what is good about HH. Good mix of families from all over the world is one of them.
I know that most people will stereotype us living in SW London. Do I see myself priviledged to live there, yes I do. But it is a result of my hard work nothing else.
As for a review of the school - I know that there will be responses about her background etc. but is still gives a good idea what is the school about.
americanhousewifeinlondon.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/parent-review-of-hill-house.html

funnily enough some of us are in the middle.

But you, and your friends at this school, are not.

millymolly yes the parents certainly DO need a PTA! ! Too long the school has been able to keep them at arms length. Turns out they've been hiding some rather shoddy practices:it seems. And urban the report does not reflect the school you see every day perhaps because you do not in fact SEE the school every day. Barely at all in fact if you are dropping off outside, being encouraged to keep your distance, having one parents evening PER YEAR, etc. Even told parents are not allowed as spectators at swimming galas, sports days etc. These things may have seemed quirky before this report. Now they seem dubious.

School's sports day anyone can see behind the railings- it is at Duke of York Square! And I can assure you that parents definitely go to see it. As for parents evenings, lots of schools have it only once a year, but they are more than happy to meet you on 1:1 whenever requested. I know as I have done so.

So urban you're saying everything is fine? I'd be a bit concerned if I were a parent. Once a year is rare, once or twice a term is more common.

Ofsted simply doesn't "get" independent schools. They can't handle the non-tick-box approach to education, or educating the whole child.

I imagine that most independent schools will be inadequate in this soul-less system.

Hahahahahaha Fugacity

Tom, please let me know of a school that holds parents evenings twice a term.

"Ofsted simply doesn't "get" independent schools. They can't handle the non-tick-box approach to education, or educating the whole child."

Erm ... No. Lets get this right. They don't care about children. Or at least the present OFSTED does not. The definition of a "good education" has become extremely narrow. Progress is defined by children passing tests. I agree with out the present OFSTED system is making schools soul-less. Children are data on an excel spreadsheet rather than little humans.

There have been lovely state schools all over the country which have been torn to pieces by OFSTED. In most cases its schools in very deprived areas where good head teachers have been driven out by completely unrealistic expectations of progress. In lots of state primaries the school play has been axed to ensure that all children make two sub levels of "progress" in key subjects.

I have to admit that I know nothing about Hill House. However I feel desperately sorry for the children and parents in the sitation of having their school "failed". I think that there is some class envy of some posters who revel in the failure of the expensive posh kids school. (I hope that Hill House parents think my views are valid!)

Us plebs at bog standard state schools have little power to change the OFSTED system. We do not have the social connections to exert influence over important people. babybarrister is a far more gifted and intelligent person than I am. She can argue for improvements to OFSTED that will help children across the UK reach their potential whatever their social background/ intelligence/ race etc.

Lambeth Schools. I know for sure at least one does because my children went to it!
I went to ChristChurch in the 1980's we had at least one a term. In the 80's. So the probably do now. My children are at private school now and they have them twice a term too. But that's not in the UK.

I find the class arguments bewildering. It is clear most people posting on this thread know nothing about HH other than what they've read in the last few days. I don't have children at the school but know a dozen or more children there. Obviously, anyone who can afford school fees has above average income, but HH is probably the least expensive private school in London. Most children I know of at HH come from families where both parents work and/or have relatives who help to oay the school fees. It is most definitely not a "rich" school. Those of you who seem to be taking an odd delight in seeing a "school of the rich" being taken down a few notches by Ofsted inspectors could, perhaps, be more sympathetic toward hard-working parents who probably are not dissimilar to you and who are likely to be facing considerable distress at the moment.

All EYFS are inspected by OFSTED, plus all boarding provision, plus full inspections of about 20% of independen schools. And no, very few reports are like this one.

Abriata, I can assure you that I am very dissimilar to the parents who send their kids to private schools.

That said, yes, I would be very worried if I were in their situation. My son's school went from 'outstanding' to needing improvement in the space of a few years and I actually took time off work to go to a special meeting about the matter where parents and governors took the SMT to task. We're back on track now, thankfully, and actually when we went through the report, in some places line by line, a lot of the problems were really to do with records not being kept thoroughly enough, so it wasn't as bad as it might have been. Also there were some anomalies for eg as far as Ofsted were concerned, the welfare of children was a problem but when we examined that part properly, attendance had been lumped in with welfare. Now, there are some kids at that school who only get there because the EWO physically goes to their houses, knocks on their doors and drives them to school herself - their home lives are chaotic, with drug and alcohol problems and police and ss involvement. So of course attendance is poor, but actually it didn't mean that the welfare of the rest of the children was affected, but still we didn't meet ofsted's criteria.

So for those of you with kids at the school I would be really pushing for a meeting involving you all, and doing what we did - properly examining the report, really pulling it to bits, asking what Ofsted were looking at when they wrote each part, working out which bits you can leave to the school to get right having had their knuckles rapped - eg are they really not challenging children or are they actually doing so and just not documenting it; in which case do the bloody paperwork but it isn't a great concern because the kids are getting taught anyway - and which bits do actually affect the education that your children are getting.

OK

if you take the OfSted at face value they found some serious issues at Hill House.

BUT ALL OF THEM ARE FIXABLE.

If this had been a Community School, then it would be put into special measures by the LA and given extra support.

As it is a private school with about twice the finance per pupil of a state school it should surely have the resources if need be to get its own assistance. Also because it is a fee paying school, and because of where it is located, it seems likely that the parents will be disproportionately drawn from the professional classes. Consequently it should be possible to tap the parents as a resource.

Of course if there are Hill House parents who do not think the OfSted should be taken at face value, well that is another matter. The argument completely different.

I should say that I am not a parent at this school, nor, actually had I heard of it before now, but I think the principles involved are general enough that I feel able to comment.

I cross posted with Cruickshank

read her last para. It is spot on.

Thanks nlondondad. I agree with what you said as well - a damning Ofsted report can be a daunting creature, but most things can be resolved and sometimes the things that look worst are not as bad as they seem anyway.

Well, I say most can be resolved, but we're still up against it with them re attendance which is something that the school can only do a limited amount about. Quite apart from the parents who daren't leave their houses because they would get their faces smashed in by local dealers, and so don't take their kids to school, loads of my friends take their kids out of the UK for 6-8 weeks at a time to visit extended family in other countries, some of which falls within term-time. The school takes a benign view of this and doesn't fine them or prevent them from doing so. So even though the school itself has improved since the awful report, we're never going to get back to 'outstanding' just because of the weighting that attendance is now given. But that's ok. Quite likely there are other, different issues with HH that will be similarly irreconcilable but also not a big deal for most parents there because they don't impact on their own children's education, despite Ofsted thinking it does. But I think until you start having a firm, honest dialogue about this between parents and the SMT, you won't know what is an issue and what isn't. You need a meeting.