Primary school performance data

[RivieraLido]

We have received a place at a primary school for our child but now having second thoughts. I loved the school when I went to see it, it's small and has a really warm, nurturing feel to it. It's in a lovely, peaceful village. I could picture my child happy there. My friend has her children there and cannot sing the school's praises enough. It's a 15 mins drive away from home for us (which is not a deal-breaker for us). Main concern is that the performance (attainment) of the school in 2024 was below average, which shocked me really, as the year before it was just above average and also had very good progress scores.

Have spoken to the council and there are places still available at another school which is walking distance from home, where performance data is much better but it does not have the facilities the other school does, also I didn't think it looked or felt as warm and exciting a place to be as the first school. My gut just didn't like it really.

Not sure whether to go with head or heart on this one.

@TizerorFizz not a SEN haven from the data I've just posted. We were on a waiting list as it was oversubscribed and got in because somebody later declined the offer.

The nearer, bigger school has a higher proportion of SEN.

I get your theory about smaller school likely being a SEN haven but it doesn't fit on this occasion. Which does make me question teaching quality in the smaller school.

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@RivieraLidoAh. It’s a fairly common scenario where I live. Sen dc come into the small village schools as parents don’t want the larger town schools.

So it might be resting on its laurels and coasting. It’s really difficult to get to the bottom of that. How do results sit in terms of your LA? Did you say they were below average nationally? Is there historic info to compare years? Some schools do get a lower achieving cohort but not year after year. See if any other info is available and what did the last ofsted say? Is it recent?

@TizerorFizz in 2022 and 2023, the school's data for meeting expected standard in reading, writing and maths was well above local authority and national averages. This is why we applied despite being out of catchment, especially after visiting and liking the feel. But after applying, data from 2024 came out and those meeting expected standard in reading, writing and maths was well below local and national averages. Hence the shock.

Ofsted inspected earlier this year and report was largely glowing about the teaching, curriculum, behaviour of pupils, though they did comment the school needs to improve in how it supports children who struggle with reading.

You really are worrying over nothing and setting too much store in how other children in the past have performed. If anything, the school will now have an extra focus on reading in light of the Ofsted report.

You have found the school where you feel your child will be happy; that is where they will be able to do their best. Children are continually assessed in school,
and if the teacher has concerns they will discuss these with you. You will be hearing your child read every night, so you will see from that and from how they talk to you about school that they are still happy and making progress. If that changes then speak to their class teacher.

Trust your judgement; you didn’t get the same feel for the closer school as being right for your child. Talk to your child's pre-school setting to check they are school-ready - you have time to address any areas where they need a little more work - attend the transition events and talk positively about the new school with your child so they don’t pick up on your worries.

I was on FSM throughout my school years and have an undergraduate degree, a teaching qualification and a Master’s.

Ofsted has to give an area for improvement. The rest of the report would be reassuring for me. Headteachers have been known to manipulate SATs results. A one-year dip means nothing.

How small is each year group in the school?

@TheMidnightLibrary 30 in each year group (one form entry)

Thanks. I was just wondering if it was due to very small cohorts making percentages look very different. But I doubt that is the case with regular classes of 30.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it as a one or two year result, as cohorts do vary.

I was a teacher for many years and I’d choose feeling over data. A dip is fine, consistently low attainment would be worrying.

To be fair that would put anyone off so a low score is pretty indicative of operational issues at the school even if some of the problems are in no way the fault of the school.

@RivieraLidoThats interesting from Ofsted and might account for a dip. Plus dc are not identical in every year group. 2024 just might have been lower achieving all round. The school hasn’t got a yoyo of bad/good results before last year. Of course with only 30 in a year group it doesn’t take much to see a dip. Just 5 dc achieving below expected in sats would alter % a lot.

I’ve been a school governor: heads don’t manipulate sats. Trying to get the lower achievers up the expected standard is very difficult. Some middle achievers have off days too. Teachers try their best for dc but you also get absences and surprise results.

Now ofsted has a made a comment about reading, it will be the focus of the head and governors in their improvement plan. That’s a good thing for your dc as they will be taking this seriously. I’m not sure you have much to worry about other than dc not having local friends and less sport and music (small schools struggle with sports teams and orchestras).

Regarding fsm, the government gives schools PP funding to “close the gap”. In other words all research has shown there is a gap in achievement by fsm dc. Not every one of course! Some fsm dc have very bright parents and just live with one parent who doesn’t earn much and dc qualify for fsm and pp but are also high achieving. Schools report on pp money spending and you could look at this.

The link is actually SEN to FSM.

Many parents who have a child with more than mild SEN have to give up work to care for their child, lowering income and triggering FSM.

The only questions should be will your child be happy and will they achieve, and I put it in that order.

Raw data can be misleading, I taught mainly FE. One year I had a Polish girl in my class, she had arrived in the UK aged 14 knowing no English.

She achieved 10 GCSE passes, her only lower grade was in English, so for her school's data she was a failure when the school must have worked with her to get those grades.

As a year 6 teacher: two things.
Firstly- is it a smallish school? As others have said, a smaller school will be disproportionately affected by a few children not getting expected.
Secondly, the tests are standardised. 100 plus is expected. So does that mean a child getting 99 can’t read? Of course not. Yet that child will count against the school. It’s an insane system- and they don’t set the pass mark till they see how well children have done overall.
I would not be put off by one year of lower data.

Sounds like a darned good school to me. Grab that place!

Thank you everyone for the comments and advice! Much appreciated and I feel more confident about having gone with my gut.

We had a year where results massively dipped, because one class had 3 children (that's 10%!) leave mid year and their places taken up by EAL pupils who obviously couldn't possibly be working at "expected levels" within a few months of being in the country!
It really doesn't take many children to be below target for it to show in the results and their can be a simple explanation.