Ofsted report - when?

[mankyscotslass]

DS1 Secondary school was assessed in November 2013 as "requires improving", having been "outstanding" after the inspection prior to that.

This was not totally unexpected - there was a drop in performance and the very good Headteacher left a few years ago, there was a period of "acting" heads, then after a couple of years they appointed a new head (not from a teaching background). The new head does not come across very well or inspire me with confidence - In the last 18 months there have been a lot of staff changes and I know from chatting to other people that a lot of the staff are unhappy.

We had had an interim Section 8 Inspection in March 2014, the inspectors gave more direction to the school but were pleased with the direction the school was moving in.

We had letters home on the first Monday in October stating Ofsted would be in school carrying out another full inspection on the Tuesday /Wednesday of that week.

Given the half term break would you have expected to hear the result of the inspection by now? There is nothing on the Ofsted website or the schools - and even after the last full inspection I think we had the report home within 2-3 weeks of the inspection being carried out. Or does not having been made aware of the result mean that it is in dispute? (Which is my gut instinct).

I suspect the inspection may have been triggered by the fact this years GCSE results were poor - although as the school have not published them I am only guessing .

Our secondary had full inspection mid Oct, report published 4th Nov.

Probably as you suspect, report being disputed.

That's what I thought.

I know the parent view survey was very scathing on the leadership at the school - so that will have been looked at.

I'm now thinking that they would only have gone into dispute if it was a "failing" verdict rather than a second "requires improvement" one.

I'm trying not to worry too much - DS1 seems to be doing well and is very happy at the school.

It may just be unavoidably delayed. My sis had Ofsted at the school she works at in the summer term and their (good with outstanding leadership) report was delayed several weeks for no apparent reason. Much rumour all round!

So not necessarily the outcome you suspect.

Your DS being happy and doing well is what counts the most in the end. Ofsted reports are just one factor.

I would be concerned though if leadership and management was such that Ofsted judged it to be incapable of sustaining and driving forward the necessary improvements.

Thank you

DS1 is very happy there, and the Deputy Head is far more engaging and open than the Head, or at least he was when I spoke to him in July.

Actually the fact that a full inspection happened relatively quickly after an HMI visit could either be good or bad news. It could be good in the sense that the HMI was of the opinion that the school is likely to be judged good at inspection and therefore an early inspection to confirm. Or it could be bad in that if your suspicion of poor results is correct, they may be heading towards a category, especially if leadership is considered inadequate.
Time will tell but the longer it is, the more likely that it is bad news.

Thank you Admission.

It's over a full calander month now since the inspection, so it looks like the clock is ticking slowly towards bad news.

Calendar...I can spell, honest!

DS1 has been very happy there so far, and worst case scenario of failing/special measures will at least mean there will be additional focus on achievement.

Still no report on the Ofsted website, and nothing at all from school about the lack of a report.

I did phone school to ask but the receptionist sounded vague and no one has called back so I am assuming they are avoiding the issue. I can't be the only concerned parent!

You may be surprised. Our school just had an RI report (down from good). Took just over 6 weeks from visit to report. 2 parents made contact with the head.

The report has just gone on the Ofsted website this morning - still no word from school though.

As I suspected it is now "inadequate". They have only just avoided special measures because they judge the management to be moving in the right direction, although not very quickly.

I feel confused - there really isn't anything I can do, realistically I can't move DS as the other school in the area has poor results too so feel we are stuck really.

It's a positive that leadership wasn't deemed inadequate - really - even though it may not feel like it at the moment. It means that Ofsted believe that improvement is happening and crucially can be sustained by the current incumbents.

The things that held true for you about the school - "DS1 seems to be doing well and is very happy at the school" - still hold true.

The leadership will be linking with other 'successful' schools to gain from their best practise, etc, so do not despair.

Keep an eye on the progress of your child and do not hesitate to raise any concerns you have.

The school will issue a statement to the parents - should give an overview of their action plan going forwards.

what issues were raised in the report? Don't forget that a number of schools saw their results drop (first year of terminal exams) and the goal posts regarding OFSTED change constantly - don't focus on the final 'grade' but it says compared to what you know about the school.

A school that is in trouble re OFSTED gain a lot of support and rapid improvements tend to follow too be honest I'm more wary of an outstanding school as they have nothing to prove or fight for so often they become complacent

It got rated 4 because of achievement - everything else was a 3. The summary said:-

This is a school that has serious weaknesses.
? Too many students at both GCSE and GCE A-level
do not make their expected progress.
? Achievement in mathematics and science is
inadequate.
? The most able students do not always achieve to
their potential at either GCSE level or in the sixth
form.
? The gap in attainment and achievement between
disadvantaged students and their peers is not
closing quickly enough.
? There is not enough good teaching across all
subjects, especially in mathematics and science.
? Students’ attitudes to learning and their behaviour
are not consistently good.
? While improvements in key areas, including
leadership and assessment have taken place they
have not done so at a sufficiently rapid pace.
? Instability in the staffing of science has led to
weakness in teaching and learning and to declining
achievement.
? Data for checking the progress students make are
not sufficiently robust or reliable.

And school have still been silent on the subject! - No letter home or a note on the school website, nothing.