Greenwich Free School 1st Ofsted

[tomasmann]

My 13 y/o son is at Greenwich Free School and tbh I had concerns about educational standards & general communication from the school. The school also seemed to be focussing excessively on discipline to the detriment of teaching quality.

Its 1st Ofsted report has confirmed my concerns. Its 'needs improvement' ("Unsatisfactory") grade has really made me feel that our son is not getting a decent education, despite the long hours of attendance demanded.

The previous head, the unfortunately named "Mr Faith" , left suddenly under a cloud. I think we, as parents deserve to know what plans are being put in place to immediately improve teaching standards at GFS by the new head.

I dont feel that I'm being kept informed of what is going on. Does anyone else feel this way? I think a meeting should take place with the new Head to discuss the way forward.- We owe it to our children. My twitter a/c is @nickh1877

I don't have any children of school age yet but will tweet this to our followers, tagging you in it if that's OK?

Hi - I don't know the school but I feel it is important to correct something that appears in your post.

GFS gained a "requires improvement" grading from OFSTED.

In old speak that was called "Satisfactory" but they renamed it so schools with that grading knew they had to get on with improving. The leadership of the school are tasked with this and OFSTED check frequently on how they are doing.

"Unsatisfactory" or "Inadequate" is a lower grading that usually leads to the school being taken over by another school or sponsor to secure improvement.

It's impr

The school is very oversubscribed, I have a friend who desperately wanted her dd to go there and is on the waiting list. Perhaps now she will find the waiting list moves more quickly...

I looked at the school, and my biggest concern was the lack of any kind of setting in any subject and for any age group. Reading the ofsted report, it details high and low ability children not being set appropriate work, and used a maths class as an example. When I questioned senior staff, they were adamant that no setting was the way forward, because of their excellent teachers and well behaved children. It seems that their intentions, however well meaning, are not being realised.

This is the problem with free schools - at best placing a child there is a leap of faith. And yes, there does seem to be a culture where they put massive emphasis on discipline because they perceive that is popular with parents, to the point where it defies common sense.

I'd say decent communication with parents is the minimum that you can expect. If they still can't be bothered, I'd be looking for another school.

I have also a 13 years old son at the GFS and the Ofsted report has confirmed my concerns as well.
When Mr Faith was there my son behaviour was excellent at home and at school. From January my son's behaviour at home is a proper nightmare!!!! I don't know if this is coming from the school....

Hi can I ask how u are finding the school now thanks kind regards

My son has never been victim of bullysm and the children in the school are really safe. Children's discipline is at the heart of the school and it is always promoted. It has also a strict uniform and dress/haircut code and so the children look always smart and tidy...It has a long school day and this can make the children tired by the end of the day....for my son the early start in the morning at 7:45am is stressful but now the general situation is good...It has small classes and the teachers are well prepared....I think that at the moment is the best secondary school in the local area and I recommend it....

My son is very happy at the GFS....

Interesting. We looked at GFS but in the end we rejected it. One of DD's best friends went there and i know she's not entirely happy, especially with the length of the school day.

However, a less than glowing Ofsted does not necessarily mean the school is bad for your child. DD ended up in Prendergast Vale which had a dubious Ofsted report but has proved to be a safe and nurturing environment where she's thrived.

I wondered if I could hear up to date views on Greenwich Free School?

I don’t have any children there but I do teach at a Grammar in Bexley and currently have 9 students from there in our Sixth Form in Year 12. I have been very impressed with all of them and they all speak highly of the school (it will be potentially my own DD’s local school in the future, hence me asking them!)

RI is not good enough though and is a fairly rare outcome for a new Free School on its first inspection. I would expect the school to share with parents the Improvement Plan "headlines" the school will be drawing up and expect to see clear signs of improvement. At the very least a letter from who is managing/governing the school.

Whether RI is the old "Satisfactory" is besides the point. It needs to improve and is not doing the best for the children.

Bubbles The OP was from 4 years ago. The school isn’t now rated ‘Good’. I was replying to quamquat with opinions on it now.

fluencycontent2-schoolwebsite.netdna-ssl.com/FileCluster/GreenwichFree/MainFolder/documents/The-Greenwich-Free-School-10011902-Final-Report.pdf

*is not ‘isn’t’. Sorry!

Sorry! Ignore me!

ZOMBIE THREAD

(I don't know the school, but surely a perfect example of why people should start new threads rather than resurrecting old ones. Glad to hear the school is now Good. A Requires Improvement grade means a school has capacity to improve, and in this case it looks like it did).

Sorry I resurrected old thread in the hope it would come up on the 'threads I'm on' for the original posters.im actually asking as I'm thinking of applying for a job there but as I've just discovered the school day starts at 7.45 I don't know how I'd get childcare starting early enough. So probably a non starter.

Hi, has anyone got some feedback on the Greenwich free school , Thanks