Orchard House School in Chiswick

[W4mama]

Hi,
We are considering putting our daughter into Orchard House School in September and are looking for some feedback. We think our daughter is quite bright but are more concerned with pastoral care and her confidence. We were wondering what the environment is like with regards to kindness, pressure, competition, bullying, etc. We know that academically it is meant to be quite good and the teachers are meant to be fantastic.

Also we have ADHD in the family and while we don't think she has it, its a bit early to know for sure. If anyone could comment on the SEN support, we would really appreciate it. Thanks for any feedback at all.

If OHS is in the Teacher's Pension Scheme they will almost certainly withdraw from that too. They seem to want staff to move on so that they can employ new staff on shiny new Dukes contracts (with worse T&Cs). It may well be worth raising with the school as parent's views are far more important than the staff's, at least in my school.

A lot of preps schools are likely to withdraw from the Teachers Pension Scheme for new joiners as a result of the government changes. The thing with Dukes independently of pensions is they need to make a good return and that will be at the expense of the teachers and the parents who pay. They will not go out of their way to pay the teachers more than they need to or to make education better for the children any more that absolutely necessary. Beware the money spent on marketing and glossy reviews, while they withdraw their 11+ results from the website!

We are definitely feeling uncomfortable. We signed up for an local independent prep which was all about community - families and staff. Dukes seems about to change that and having bought the other nearby prep, what options will be left in our neighbourhood? Are companies allowed to monopolise education in an area leaving the residents with limited choice?

OHS has been our dream school to start our children at and we’re now really concerned with the new changes and don’t know what to do. It’s frustrating, as like @kidsdogsandcoffee we wanted a familial and independent school for our kids with the convenience of being local. I don’t know what direction they will go in, but one thing to note is that Broomfield (Dukes owned) have not published their 11+ data for some years now and this predates being bought out by Dukes.

Broomfield: I know for a fact because we looked at it for DD, they stopped publishing just before they sold. It doesn't sound casual to me and I would take the sign seriously, whatever it means.

Actually Broomfield publishes in 2019, just checked my files! So no, it is not "for a few years"

I cannot see that every child in a Dukes school will end up going to one of their senior schools. Radnor is miles away and I would not want to do that journey every day with my children. If I were you W4mama, I would call the school re the merger. It has been all over the local press and if I were you I would get it straight from the horse's mouth. Huge investment has been promised and a gradual phase into it. I'm really not sure why people are commenting about teacher's pensions and have brought that into the mix.

It seems that there is a mixture of Dukes employees and parents on this thread. There is nothing wrong with that, they are both significantly affected by Dukes acquiring so many schools, so quickly in West London and their business model. I joined the conversation because I heard OHS teachers weren't being paid competitively and from a parental standpoint that concerns me as I want the person who spends so much time with my children and is responsible for a year of their education to be the best and to be happy and motivated to do the best for my child. Will that be the case if they could be better paid elsewhere? We pay high school fees for the privilege of exceptional teachers - if Dukes aren't paying for them, will we get them? OHS currently has wonderful teachers but this could change quickly if Dukes don't pay to keep them.

"School racks up record results

Broomfield House in Kew, part of Dukes Education, is celebrating record results in this year’s 11+ assessments.

In an exceptional year of disruption, the school’s 24-strong cohort secured an almost 100 per cent strike rate, with an incredible 100 offers and 17 scholarships – all of them academic – from some of London’s top schools.

Offers from academic establishments such as St Paul’s Boys and Girls schools, Kings College, Godolphin and Latymer and Lady Eleanor Holles, have been complemented by places at prestigious schools further afield including Roedean on the East Coast and Dulwich College in Singapore. And pleasingly, with the majority of pupils winning more than one offer, families have been given choice.

Susie Buyers, Headteacher, Broomfield House: “I am so proud of our pupils, who have shown such courage and character to keep learning throughout the challenges of the year. They thoroughly deserve their success and I know they will leave us as confident and kind young people ready to take their place at senior school.”

www.schoolhousemagazine.co.uk/uncategorized/broomfield-house-high-flyers/

In pile all the Dukes MN accounts. Just brilliant.

Yes but where is the table with all schools, offers and acceptances? Very nice article but I would want the data. Which they are not publishing yet, why not? Look at Kew College or any school that wants to show its academic results. Heath field, Ravenscourt, Newland, Old Vicarage, Kings, etc.. And I want last years available too, etc etc. Sounds great but also a lot of spin. I prefer the raw data, not the spin. I also want to see the record of second tier schools, coed vs single sex, which schools they targeted, etc. so not that simple.

@Coronateachingagain I have ex Kew College kids on that raw data, and completely agree it makes everything clear and upfront. Not every school does, but they should.
At least the article makes clear the world doesn't seen to be crashing down at Broomfield, like some would suggest!

Ha, Dukes also acquired Hampton Court House. Now who will believe they will not push their preps to their new senior schools in West London? I would not be surprised if they were looking to expand Radnor House with another school or by buying/leasing more facilities. Clearly from a corporate perspective, they are increasing secondary capacity.

I'm relying to the query about why teachers pensions are brought into the mix. Maybe it's because my mother is a retired teacher and because she has worked in other cultures where more value is placed on teachers but I don't think people always appreciate the connection between happy teachers, happy pupils and therefore happy parents. Why do we place so much importance on education in our children's futures but not on the people directly responsible for it? Why would a teacher go that extra mile for our children just to retire on a pittance? I know it's the schools which are responsible for salaries and conditions not the parents but if they do not ensure our children have and the best teachers (and keep them) perhaps we need to do something about it. My son loves his teacher, we know she is great and we want our youngest to have her one day too. She's too good and too clever to stay where she is not paid well or appreciated. You can have shiny new buildings and equipment but they mean nothing without the very best teachers to use them properly. Schools are communities before they are places!

Does anyone know if there’s any chance the two schools (OHS and CBPPS) will remain independent of one another and not merge? Or does anyone know how many children there will be in each year group once they start to merge? We suspect there will be three forms each year but wish we could know their plans for certain as it will affect our second child if we send our first there.

@kidsdogsandcoffee

I'm relying to the query about why teachers pensions are brought into the mix. Maybe it's because my mother is a retired teacher and because she has worked in other cultures where more value is placed on teachers but I don't think people always appreciate the connection between happy teachers, happy pupils and therefore happy parents. Why do we place so much importance on education in our children's futures but not on the people directly responsible for it? Why would a teacher go that extra mile for our children just to retire on a pittance? I know it's the schools which are responsible for salaries and conditions not the parents but if they do not ensure our children have and the best teachers (and keep them) perhaps we need to do something about it. My son loves his teacher, we know she is great and we want our youngest to have her one day too. She's too good and too clever to stay where she is not paid well or appreciated. You can have shiny new buildings and equipment but they mean nothing without the very best teachers to use them properly. Schools are communities before they are places!

Absolutely. By no means are Dukes schools the only Independent Schools leaving/not offering the TPS - the contributions have gone up so much and COVID has created a difficult environment for many schools. However, it will create a two-tier system of Independent Schools, and those offering the TPS will be a far more attractive prospect to work in.

I saw this thread and thought it was interesting that OHS is now advertising for their tenth teacher in Year 3 in four years - that is a turnover that begs inquiry.

We are new but are already concerned by the teacher turnover which we have never experienced at out children's schools before. Other parents tell us that Year 4 has had 6 form teachers in the last four years and Year 3 will have had 10 teachers overall, in that time! Is that normal for these types of schools in London? In other countries, this would cause the parents significant concern.

That’s definitely not normal!

I think for a bit of perspective it might be useful to know that a huge number of prep schools are withdrawing from the pensions scheme including the GDST so that should not be a disadvantage of OHS unless other factors are at play. I believe the turnover is very low at PRospect a sister school so could be more school specific that dukes maybe? Radnor is opening up a junior school as well I belong from September 23 so less likely will be automatic destination for any of the dukes owned schools. I do not work for Dukes , Jake a parents who has been following the dukes buying spree of schools in London which I agree was very concerning at first

Think that is a bit misleading about the teachers as many of them are still at the school but have moved to other year groups. For example, the year 4 teachers taught my children when they were in year 2. I would take some of these comments with a pinch of salt as I am not sure they are all genuine.

I checked and 5 of the Year 3 teachers will have left the school in four years - that concerns me given it it is the transition year to KS2.