how to choose a primary school! are ofsted reports a good basis or not?

[CatIsSleepy]

First of all, dd1 is at the nursery of a great school. However, I am just not sure she's going to get a school place there (it's very popular of course, and there are 50 kids in the nursery but only 30 reception places) so am having to consider very carefully which school I put in second place on the form.

We live in an area that's classified as deprived with a high proprtion of kids with various difficulties so I guess all the schools are starting from a low base. None of the local schools are terrible though- seems like they all do a reasonable job and the kids are fairly happy there. Lots of the schools seem to get graded a 3 overall by ofsted.

Trouble is I don't really know anyone with kids at the other local schools so am not sure what to base my decision on. One of the schools is graded a 2 (same as the one she's at) but just looks a bit off-putting...a bit tatty, outdoor space a bit rubbish, and in the middle of a council estate.Ok maybe am sounding precious -it sounds good on paper but looks a bit off-putting. The other school am thinking of is graded 3 but looks nicer!
Am I being ridiculous to even worry what a school looks like???
Would looking around inside make any difference (can you even do that?)

sorry for rambling!

Sorry about the horrible typing.

Cat just visit and you'll know. Choosing a school is a bit like buying a house imo, as soon as you walk in the door you get an instinct if it's the one for you. We chose the school with the worst ofsted, because when we went round it felt by far the best, but then after the application deadline had passed a new ofsted was published and the school was graded good with outstanding features. Honestly visit a couple and you'll get a sense just by seeing the kids and how they are in the classrooms.

smee-have now booked visits to both schools. Hopefully I'll be able to make my mind up when I've seen them both...

Athene, you simply need to phone up the school and say you haven't received a reply and that you would like a copy of the complaints policy, or that you are going to complain to the governors, or both - works like a dream I find Or mention that you've heard Ofsted expects schools to work in partnership with parents, and perhaps they could confirm that's the case.

Yes... I'm dragging my feet because I don't want to annoy the teacher. But, it is getting silly. That bit about them not being in line with Ofsted expections, however, might be very useful. I shall go see if I can find some ammunition on the Ofsted site.

Any links on the matter would be most welcome.

I will go talk to the head if I have to but I am hoping that it won't come to that because I really don't want to sour the relationship with DD's teacher.