Choosing a school when all are "unacceptable"

[askeptical1]

OFSTED recently blitzed our area with every secondary school being inspected last month (most think its part of a political conspiracy) but the main problem is that all 11 secondary schools are now rated grade 4 - unsatisfactory.
Our main problem now is what do we do?
As we live quite rural and the schools all within a 20 mile radius of the house we really have no options about going further afield.
Would like some advice please as to whether we just put our ds1 into one of the failing schools or do something dramatic like going private (something we have never considered).
Does anyone have any experience of sending their dc to unsatisfactory schools?

Golly, a bit of a Hobson's choice. Can you visit each one and see what the Headteacher is like? Pick the one with the most dynamic HT determined to make the most sensible changes.

Or try to get your DC into a state boarding school (there are a few dotted around the country) or a school like Christ's Hospital? State boarding schools charge only for the boarding element and have a very good reputation academically. CH charges according to income and can be free. Problem is you have to apply a year before entry to CH.

I wouldn't put much store by the ofsted report. Go visit them and form your own opinion.

Look at the of stead before that? General trends from the last couple?

There will be some that have always been shit, and some that look a bit better. May help to narrow it down?

Go and look at the facilities, the students' behaviour around school and ask to see a detailed breakdown of the GCSE results. As Rose says, look at the previous Ofsted report too and see if the school has addressed the issued that were raised in that.

*issues not issued

Dd attends a state boarding school and we discussed this with ds but he didn't want to board therefore we didn't mind him going to a local school except now Ofsted have given everyone a bit of a scare.
I think we'll go and reinvestigate the schools ds said he liked on the form and see what their plans are.
Thanks for the advise.

YY to gcse results. You need to know if they are getting any pupils to A/A* standard, even if your DC is that not academic but especially if they are, because it shows how the teaching is doing to a certain extent and whether the pupils are reaching their own full potential or whether the schools are merely teaching to get them over the C boundary.

look at the report. what areas are satisfactory/unsatisfactory etc.

look at trends in school - turnover of staff, recent ofsted reports, last 5 years of results, value added (ie level pupils arrived at school, gcses they left with) etc.

visit, ask questions, get local opinions from existing parents

see what next steps are recommended to school/what they plan to do

go near school gates at the time they are leaving (sometime after 3 pm)
if there's a policeman, there would have been problems with pupils in the past (maybe fighting between 2 schools).

watch who is showing you during open days
if they are roping in kids from all years to me it is sign that y7/8 are misbehaving and hard to control

schools often draw agreement between parents/student/school where all rules are explained, ask for them

how many students taken triple science at GCSE and what were their scores

Well, state baording is your fallback - does sibling link apply to boarding places, or are you still in the "exceptional need for boarding" category under which most (non-Forces) families secure places?

I think you need to look at old as well as current OFSTED, and look exactly at the areas in which there are changes. Which ones of these matter most to you? And which look as if they are most fixable? That might help you decide which schools are likely to 'improve' the fastest.

Or if you decide it's all crystal ball gazing, then you go for them in order of ease of logistics.

You say your thoughts are turning to private. Have you actually looked at possible local schools? Just because they are funded by parents, not the state, doesn't mean they will automatically be good (though to be fair, many are excellent).

askeptical1, do you have time on your side? If the schools have been branded unacceptable they will get some concentrated help to improve over the next few years, and that should be a strong catalyst for change.

Alternatively, if you felt inclined to investigate the option of attracting a free school to the area, or working with other parents to establish one yourselves, then it sounds like you'd have a strong case. The free school programme uses quality as well as quantity when assessing the need for a new school in a particular area. See here.

Of course, whether the free school programme will survive in its current form beyond the next election is a matter for debate, but don't let that stop you .

Read the words in the Ofsted reports, rather than the grades. It seems highly unlikely that a whole area has suddenly taken a nose dive in standards.

In your position I'd talk to DS again about boarding! Yes the sibling link applies here.

new Ofsted criteria is very very harsh and never just judge a school on how it was seen in high pressure for a day and a half. teaching and schools are about much more than that. go and look around each one and ask to meet the head

As others have said - go and see them all. Have a look at the reports to see why they were graded unsatisfactory and then match that with what you have seen and what you feel is important in a school.

Forget Twating Ofsted and go and visit.

DDs school has gone from 'good with outstanding features', to satisfactory, to SM in the five years she's been there.

During that time the results got better!

Ofsted have their own agenda, it has absolutely nothing to do with improving education for the majority of DCs.

DDs school got done for a tiny no. of low ability and SN DCs (school had had temp Senco) another school for it's maths dept, that they were already trying to sort.

All Ofsted have done is depress the staff and lose us nice extracurricular activities shortening our lunch hour, they have got way too big for their boots.

Please, please, please, don't go further afield and give your DCs stupidly long days because of Ofsted!

(My DDs spend 2hrs a day on the bus because it's a ridiculous route, despite it being their nearest school. They hate it, but we have no alternative without me going back to doing a sodding daily school run).

And yes! To asking the schools for their previous reports and several years GCSE and A level (if applicable) results.

Now watch them all become academies and get a better rating.

New ofsted ratings are political bollocks, they massively changed how they assess them.

11, wow, where are you please!!!?

Most unsatisfactory schools will be rated satisfactory again within 6 months (they have a list telling them exactly what to do). I've heard lots of very positive stories about kids at supposed Grade4 schools (but no personal experience).

I would chuck the Ofsted reports & ask around for parent opinion & experience. Only way for sure.

nobel We are already an academy, here and in many other areas, all secondaries are academies, so that piece of conspiracy theory is way out of date!

I think a good look at Ofsted reports, breakdown of grades and teachers aspirations for the kids is a good starting point. We have re-discussed boarding but its a no go, so going back to look at the three chosen schools during the school day to assess behaviour/if kids like it ect.
We can branch out to a couple of others if we have to.
Its come a bit late in the game for ds as hes starting in September but im sure everything will work out.
Most parents are still happy for their DC's to go to the local schools but most have never considered any where else anyway so think some digging is needed.
The council have announced that they may be closing some schools which is another cause for concern (where does it end?)
I think we might have to just wait for the dust to settle for now. Thank you so much for your advice and opinions.

I wonder if you are near me? The same has happened to all the schools in our local area. Our most local was judged Outstanding two years ago in a no notice inspection, but has been put in Special Measures now. Tbh, knowing the school, I'm not that concerned, but then most of my family are teachers, university lecturers and one family member is an Ofsted inspector so hopefully any deficiency from the school can be made up by our joint knowledge at home!

As others have said, visit the schools, see which you like the feel of and which ones have teachers who care about the pupils progress. In some schools there is more concern about pandering to Ofsted than there is about the pupils. I think more and more frequently, Ofsted is a political tool than an educational judgement.

We have a similar problem - at most we have 'satisfactory' and at worst they are in special measures.

Not sure what to do really.

Too true Magrat Ofsted is indeed a political tool, but I'm not sure for which party?

Sometimes it's Tory, having a go at schools that fail their brightest pupils.
Sometimes it's Liberal having a go at schools that fail FSM and SN
Sometimes it's Socialist and has a go at Grammar and free schools and Academies.
Very occasionally it's on the parents and DCs side having a go at schools that are genuinely getting worst results than their pupils deserve.

Personally, I think, Ofsted serves only one master. It's self!

I have come to believe the bottom line is Ofsted cares only about appearing useful and necessary and that means finding any excuse to upgrade and down grade schools regardless of their actual performance.

If all schools were deemed good or satisfactory, Ofsted would be unnecessary and all those juicy, well payed inspectors posts and consulting jobs in RI/SM schools would disappeared.