Ofsted in 32 degree heat!

[oncewasawarrior]

My DC primary school had an ofsted inspection on Tue. It is a "good" rated school and we were told it would be the standard one day inspection.

We're in London, so on Tuesday the temp was 31 degrees. It was 28 in my sons class in the dark with blinds closed! Apparently things didn't go well- teachers and pupils really struggling in the heat, 2 children fainted, things were generally difficult.
On wed they came back with 5 inspectors. Temp hit 33 in the playground.

How worried should we be? I don't know anything about the process. I'm not concerned about the school- I think my three children are getting a great education there, but a poor ofsted will cripple us. We're a school that manages a really high proportion of FSM and ESL and does well BUT we're surrounded by much naicer schools in areas of £1m+ housing... a poor ofsted will mean that we'll no longer get the social mix we have as the parents who can will vote with their feet....
if the report is bad what are the options?

Who did you hear that it hadn't gone well from? They could have come back for a second day to put them up to Outstanding.

A local school went from Outstanding to RI and were back up to Good very quickly - within the year I think, so all is not lost. Your numbers might take a slight hit but ultimately there isn't much choice in London and people can't necessarily fund private school and enormous mortgages.

Girls- I think we assumed that things hadn't gone well as there was a combination of things that apparently didn't go well. Teachers looked very upset.

Good news that a poor ofsted might not stick around for years though...

Whilst clearly there is extra pressure when Ofsted arrive, I would be worried by the comment that 2 pupils fainted no matter what the temperature. Is that something that happens regularly? I would assume not but it does then beg the question what was the school doing that meant that pupils felt faint. I am sure that Ofsted will be asking the question as this would present potentially as a safeguarding health and safety issue
I think you should assume the worst, especially if teachers are worried, but as other poster said it is always possible that they are considering outstanding.

The fainting pupils were down to the heat- one is a very sensitive child in a hot classroom who fainted due to temp. She was in a room with the blinds down and a fan- I think her clothing may also have been inappropriate for the heat. The second fainter is a bit divisive 😀 She's famous for latching into drama and my daughter' s friend in the classroom said that she was peering out from half closed eyes !

Oh well. Nothing to be done now. Wait and see😀

Ofsted inspectors are used to the heat as they come from hell.
True fact! 😉

This happened at one of my DCs schools a few years ago, the inspection was on a boiling hot day and coincided with sports day, I remember as a parent feeling awful in the heat but the inspector kept his suit on the whole afternoon. Everyone was hot and bothered but the school stayed at good, I don't know if the inspector made allowances for hoe overheated everyone was.

The school can't really be blamed if a child faints, I did once at primary school in the heat, it was so sudden there was nothing the school could have done

Admissions my dd faints really easily in the heat. Can be anything from her standing up suddenly through to gradually getting too hot. If it's the latter and they ignored her saying she felt bad/needed water, then yes, they handled it badly. But with the former it could be her jumping up to get something she needs. You can't say it's necessarily something the school can do about.