Ks2 sats results

[MrPickles73]

The KS2 sats results are just out. My children's school has scored negative progress for reading, writing and bottom 10% for maths. 0% higher level.
This is there worst result for about 3 years when no one passed writing..
I asked for a copy of the school improvement plan earlier in the term to see where the focus areas for improvement are and was told it wasn't yet available and have heard nothing since .
Any advice?

I asked for the improvement plan last year when the school was in bottom 10 % and did not get it. I contacted the local Council in the end. They ended up holding a meeting for parents and another Head came in to support the school eventhough there is an "experienced" head in already. The results this year show they are well below average in reading progress. Not great.

I'm sorry to hear of your experience Dinnertime22. I did write to our council 3 years ago because all 10 of our local schools did poorly bar 1 and they told me to speak to the school . It's like being in an educational black hole. The school has since become an Academy but it turns out that doesn't mean anything

Are you interested in being a governor?

We wouldn’t generally hand out our school improvement plan on demand, but the results you mention are worrying as they are part of a longer term trend.

If you aren’t confident in the school’s ability to turn it around, then look to move. Reading governing body minutes may be illuminating.

Post my concerns at school performance I became a governor but the chair of governors is over bearing and everyone else just nodded their heads. Everything I suggested was rejected so I quit after a year. Now I keep my input minimal. The head teacher has changed twice in the last 2 years.
I thought anyone can ask for the SIP?

The school development plan should be a shared document. Ours is on our website (the main priorities). Governors should also have a longer term strategic plan which should be available. This school’s performance is very poor and it sounds like it’s not improving. This is a concern.

Yes I thought the plan (or a version of it) should be publicly available. They also have not published how the PE funding will be spent. Surely we are 1/3rd of the way through the year now and this laissez Faire approach is not good enough?

Tbh, I’d just either move or get onto waiting lists for decent schools further afield and drive my child over.

They are statutorily obliged to publish how they are spending both their PE grant and their Pupil Premium Grant. It must be published on their website.

This is there worst result

Oh, the irony.

Your mistake, if replicated over around six pieces of work, wouldn't meet the standards of the Y6 expectations that you are complaining about.

Progress measures up to this year are unreliable, since they depend on children's results from a different curriculum. Not only that, but the method of assessment was totally different, and depended on best fit, rather than secure fit.

The school development plan should be a shared document.

There is no such requirement.

Feenie. Apologies you are quite right it is 'their'. Tbh I'm less concerned about the English result, it's -ve but not bottom 10% like the maths.

Is that just one year, though - and is the school one form entry? Anything can happen with one cohort - you need to look for trends.

Is this a junior school?
Is this a small school?
Is there anything "unusual" about the cohort which would skew the results (large number of children moving to the school in Year 6, for example).

*The school development plan should be a shared document.

There is no such requirement.*

I know it’s not required but it’s good practice, particularly if a parent has requested it. The school community should know what areas a school is focussing on for improvement.

I think the questions that you need to be asking yourself are:-

• are my children happy at school and am I happy with their education at the moment?
• does/will the school listen when/if I have raised concerns?

If the answer to those questions is yes, I would step away from the DofE Performance Tables.

If no/not sure, then I would still step away from the Performance Tables and focus on specific concerns.

I say this with kindness and from experience.

School I'm a governor at have an abridged version of the SIP online just detailing the targets for the year and key steps in the action plan to achieve these... my own kids' junior school haven't got theirs available and haven't shone in the league tables - I'd like to know what their priority areas are this year to be honest, but I'm resisting the temptation to go for parent governor there - I don't have the time to do it twice at the moment.