School out of special measures and now, according to Ofsted, a 'good' school.

[OrmIrian]

Which is lovely, of course.

And the new head is brilliant and everyone has worked very hard. And I can see some difference admittedly

But... I can't help thinking that a school that was (apparently) failing it's pupils so spectacularly 16m ago can't be that different now. It makes the whole Ofsted thing seem even more silly.

Don't get me started on ofsted!

Makes me cross how random it is.

Its just all to do with paperwork and targets!

dd1 old junior school failed because it was in debt!!!!!!

It has always done well on how much it has brought the children up from their entry level but it's never going to have fantastic sat results because of the area it serves IYSWIM.

You really really have to learn how to read between the lines in the ofsted reports, I think they do more harm than good.

Ditto sleighgirl. Our Yr 6 SATS scores last year were the best ever for the school. But still below the national average.

I always liked the school anyway. It did OK by my DC.

Well my dd has left & gone to an academically selective secondary which looks at potential so it served her very well.

If you like the school that is all that matters.It is possible for them to get outstanding and be miserable places!

It was never miserable

My eldest got level 5s in his SATS. He had now gone on to an outstanding secondary school that isn't selective so has similar problems to the primary in a sense. But the teaching is good, the environment is supportive and I an hoping it serves him well. First parents evening tonight so we'll see.

I do think a good head can make a huge difference even in such a short space of time. If you've basically got a good solid group of staff, but they just weren't pulling together because they were demoralised, demotivated, depressed, fed-up; then a fresh start with an inspirational head can get everyone inspired and enthusiastic and turn the place around.