Anybody any experience of Colden School?

[Frenchtoast56]

DD in nursery at the moment but thinking ahead to September 17. (OMGCAN'TBELIEVEIT) Off stead parent reports seem poor (?) anyone have personal experience?

Yes, without wishing to out/identify myself, due to smallness of school and its community...

Two-hundred feet barge pole job. Mass exodus of excellent and experienced teachers and teaching assistants since arrival of new head, others clinging on by their fingertips. Children leaving in droves (more than ten per cent of the school population since September). Poor governance. Culture of bullying. Good results are misleading, as there is an extremely high take-up of private tuition from Year 2/3 onwards, due to 11+ pressures.

Read and believe the Ofsted Parent View statistics!

Off stead parent view seems to have changed since I last looked. Hmmm. Hadn't heard about teachers leaving or bullying.

Yes, it's because the school is now earmarked for closure by the head of children's services (announced publicly last week), so the very same parents who previously had been campaigning for the new head to be ousted - and who were responsible for the 100pc no vote to the question 'would you recommend this school to another parent?' have now decided it's a better bet to try to keep the school open, so have been kicking over their traces...

Three of the four long-standing class teachers (including the deputy head/reception teacher) have resigned since the arrival of the new head, and the fourth has reduced her teaching days, and is rumoured to be parachuting out imminently.

There are 7 spare reception places for the new academic year - of an intake (I think) of 15. This is unparalleled in the history of Colden.