How important are ofsted results?

[sparkle789]

Dd2 is in year one. When dd1 was there the school was rated good a new head came and it has been rated requires improvement on the last 2. Although my daughter seems to be ok there is have spoken to other parents who say they have had issues that haven’t been dealt with and quite a few children are moving to new schools.
We are moving house soon and will be closer to a different primary rated good and I’m not sure if I should move her or not. Her current primary is still within walking distance.

Don't pick a primary just on an Ofsted result.

Your child is there - what do you think of the school? It doesn't matter what another parent's experience is - their child will have a different personality and different needs to yours. (unless they are general issues that affect the school as a whole - and even then you are going by gossip).

I'd suggest going to see the new school and choosing which one you like the best. If you are going to move, I'd suggest the earlier the better. There may not be space at the other school anyway.

Personally I would be wary of an Outstanding rated school that hadn't been inspected for years, and probably a requires improvement, though hopefully that would be getting some attention paid to it.

As an ex TA who worked in a primary school that has had it's third requires improvement, I would not always agree that it's worth the paper it's written on.

I know that the teachers I worked with, worked their arses off, for the children that they taught and the children worked hard also.
Go with how you feel about the school, not what Ofsted says.

I wouldn't pick a school of ofstead. One thing i have found with my dcs over the years is that some requires improvment schools can be great and some oustanding schools can be rubbish.
I think best way to judge what school would be best for your dc would be to visit it and get a feel for it.

It depends on what the ofsted report flags up. Test scores, no big deal, I'd pick the school you love. Pastoral care issues, much bigger issue. My dd started at a school that required improvement. We opted for that one (our first choice) over the outstanding school an equal distance away. I've heard nothing but negative things about the other school since, with bullying and behaviour issues. But they have larger class sizes so their aggregate test scores look better and that's why they are rated so highly. My dd's school is lovely. She has blossomed, the pastoral care is fantastic, small class sizes, forest school, lots of wonderful teachers, but they don't teach to testing and they don't really care that they don't, which suits me just fine. It's also reassuring that none of my teacher friends have chosen schools based on ofsted reports.

Agree with Mind. It depends what the report actually says.

Are any of the issues 'red flags' for you? Safeguarding or bullying, for example?

If not, are any of the highlighted weaknesses particularly relevant to your child? Eg, criticism of SEN provision if your child is SEN, weakness with teaching phonics and your DD is struggling with learning to read.

If the specific areas for concern are not particularly relevant to your child, and if the school are taking positive steps to address the issues, I would stay with the current school.

Personally I give it no heed.
I have pretty much zero respect for ofsted and anything they have to say - be it positive or negative.

I would go by your own experiences with the school.
I agree Outstanding Ofsteds are worse than useless as they are generally years and years out of date.

Many Ofsted inspectors are ex teachers and head teachers so why would you not trust them? They have run effective schools.

Most RI schools will not be RI just on SEN provision or test results. I strongly suggest you look at the Inspection Framework on their web site to see what they actually look at. Often it’s poor teaching, poor progress and poor leadership that make a school RI. Not a single issue or not addressing parental gripes. It’s never about work ethic and is no longer about results in isolation. If that was the case, many poorer areas would never get good schools and that isn’t the case.

Inspiring leadership is often the catalyst for a great school and that’s what I would want to see. Also recognition of a need to change helps improve a school plus there must be a clear plan of how to do it. If all these are in place, I would stay. Parents with grumbles are everywhere. Ofsted take little notice of this because it is a tiny part of their inspection so don’t be swayed by this. For all you know the parents at the other school are grumbling too.

You really want to see evidence of the progress your child is making and then look at the progress data for both schools on the government’s web site. What does this tell you about both schools? How are weaknesses being addressed? Is the good school a lot better or is there little difference? Look more deeply and you should come up with an informed choice but in general Ofsted’s recent reports are pretty accurate. If your school cannot get out of RI, then you need to ask what the issues are. Why is it RI twice? It suggests poor leadership and a failure to address important issues.

Many ofsted inspectors are ex teacher or head teachers - makes you wonder why they are not teaching now!

I volunteer in a school that was recently OFSTEDed the process was vile.

Inspectors saw little of the actual teaching and spent most of her time grilling the head.

Outstanding schools don't get inspected for years. So this is a very false result to base a choice on.

Visit the school, go school events and get a feel for it.

I moved DD from an "outstanding" primary to one rated requires improvement, because the outstanding one might have been outstanding once but it certainly shouldn't be now (massive bullying issue, crap teaching, DD was given a wet paper towel and told to stop making a fuss for a broken bone!) it was absolutely the best choice for her, new school is absolutely brilliant and have bent over backwards to fix the issues DD's old school caused (MH issues due to bullying and gaps in her learning.) Schools with low Ofsteds work really hard to get their ofsted back up, outstanding schools often get complacent, outstanding also doesn't mean it will be right for your child, so really you need to have a look and see what you think.

Personally I wouldn't move a child that is happy and settled if you have no complaints about the school.

They are not
Take them with a pinch of salt
Data is often manipulated and the inspection isn't a true reflection.

I believe inspections usually are a true reflection. They usually identify the schools that are letting their children down.

Many Heads don’t teach. The next step up is an advisory role and being an Inspector. It’s called promotion and many people need a change of job in their working lives.

If you read the handbook, Paddington, which it appears you haven’t, you will understand why inspectors are not standing in classrooms with clipboards. They are looking at teaching quality over time. Not a 30 minute slot. Please inform yourself on how inspections are conducted and it’s right the Head is spoken to at length. That’s what they are paid for and should be able to justify and explain the facts and figures to the Inspectors to back up the school’s view of itself. It’s a conversation, not a grilling.

The result itself doesn't necessarily concern me, other kids leaving would.

The school I have moved my children from has families leaving in droves for whom the problems began to outweigh liking the staff, ethos, moving children away from friends etc...

I would look at the new school and see how you feel about it. If there is anything that concerns you about the old school ask the new school how they handle the same situation. Talk to parents at the new school and ask how they feel their school handles difficult issues.