Would you send your child to a school with a glowing Ofsted but with which you have distinct feelings of foreboding?

[Wills]

Each time I've been to the school I've had a distinct dislike for the headmaster. To be blunt he's a pompous prat (although he doesn't have a clue that that is how I feel) . He runs a very strict school that doesn't appear to have any days out or any themes or any fun days etc. They focus purely on results yet their ofsted glows about them. I've heard some terrible rumours but surely I shouldn't listen to gossip! Also my older child has just started at a different school. I can't get both children to school on time. The other school are looking into how to help me yet this school when I approached them with my issues basically told me that it wasn't their problem and they couldn't help. All I could do was hope to make a friendship with another mum and leave my 4 year old with them instead. I'm really torn as to what to do.

One thing i have noticed in my area about schools which are deemed the most desirable/have the best Ofstead reports, is that it sort of goes to their head (especially the head's head!) and they then make very little effort to "sell" themselves or the school to parents - I suppose making the (valid) assumption that they will be over subscribed and so don't need to make the effort - hard to describe but a sort of complacent, superior attitude.

It irritates the hell out of me and I was disappointed to find it at the secondary school that we hope to send dd to - we will probably still send her there because everything else about the school is good but it is annoying...

I suppose my point is that if everything else about the school was fine I wouldn't take too much notice of the head (and heads can change as your child goes through the school anyway) but if there are other things niggling i would reconsider...

is there not an infants school linked to the juniors that your older dd will go to?

I'd go with your gut instinct.
However on the subject of flexible start times - if you were asking if you could drop off early, they could possibly accommodate that but if you were asking to be allowed to come in late every day - I don't think any school would be willing to do that.

No I wouldn't. Heads make a huge difference in the school, good or bad.