Underperforming Local Secondary - Planning for the future

[TheBeautifulCorrs]

Hi everyone,

My DC attends a good primary. We like where we live. However our catchment secondary in the nearest town is poor. I'm talking serious behaviour problems and violence, poor outcomes at least 25% below National Averages, and an OFSTED that has always wavered between good (infrequently) and requires improvement.

This is the only option locally and it is in a very deprived town that has a lot of issues. The options are similar in commutable towns further afield. There are no selectives within a commutable distance.

I don't anticipate an improvement given longstanding historical reputation, the chronic underfunding and the teacher recruitment issues nationally.

We suspect that although they are robust and adaptive, this might not be the ideal fit for DC. Or any children if we are being honest.

I'm looking to hear from people who either went to or sent their children to a school like this and how it worked out? Would you choose it again if there was another option that required a big sacrice?

We have time, but if we feel we need to avoid this, it's going to involve a move or paying for education privately. Both cost significantly and are a stretch for us, so will take some planning, career advancements and savings, which is going to take time.

Any experience is welcome. Right now my head is a mess working out how best to help our child given the limited options and I feel such anger that this is the reality for a lot of family's.

Thank you!

*sacrifice

As a teacher, I think if the school has been like this for a number of years, then it's unlikely to change, unfortunately. Are there any positives to this school or any of the local schools? Do you know when it was last inspected and is it in a MAT or is it an LA school?

Depending on how old your DS is, what are the outcomes like for children with his sort of profile? If he is genuinely able, and there is a local(ish) school that gets good outcomes for their more able students, I would be less worried. If he is closer to national average, I would probably be more worried.

I would definitely have a proper look around any schools that you could feasibly get into, or DS could commute to- there may be an option out there that is better than you think, or you could at least live with.

I think your assessment of the school is probably right (although on Mumsnet you will get a shower of people saying it's fine). You can support with tutors etc, but equally that can be fairly miserable for a child if they go to school, feel it's a waste and then come home to tutoring multiple evenings a week. And it doesn't take away from the social influences at school.

In terms of paying for private education, have you actually looked at the local private options, and would they be a good fit for your DS? Not every private school is right for every child, and some can be pretty expensive without adding much value. If private school is likely to be a financial stretch, make sure you budgeting plans take into account fee increases- some people will say 5% a year, but to be safe I would budget 10% a year. I would want to be as certain as I can that I could fund private school at least to Y11- having to take your child out after a few years would be awful.

Have you got an area in mind that you would move to in terms of better schools?

Thanks for the reply @Postapocalypticcowgirl.

DC is mid KS1 and they are currently working at greater depth with stretch work as expected for those in the year above them. Others will catch up, but they likely will remain bright and very secure in the key areas.

The school is part of a MAT who are doing a lot, but it isn't enough. There's a constant flow of "managed moves" due to no local PRU provision anymore. This has somewhat changed a lot of the "naice" schools also.

OFSTED last year was GOOD. Children like my DC do well but don't fulfil their full potential. There are distractions and a culture of it being cool to underachieve. Other close schools have similar issues as all towns in my County are struggling with social issues.

The "lure" of private is I (naively) think it would be an environment where DC wouldn't need to shrink their ability to avoid being a target of violent/bullying behaviour. Or that private has more jurisdiction than state to manage behavioural problems. It's more a quality of life/enjoyment of school consideration vs outcomes, as I think they could achieve in most places with support at home. I might be wrong though. I don't want them to have to endure their key education years, but enjoy them.

DC is a keen sports person. We work hard to satisfy this which will continue as long as needed. We plan to visit the privates when DC is in KS2 and we get a better idea for their strengths and will have a few more years of data for the local secondaries.

We are tied to North Somerset for work, in quite a niche job and have health considerations that make me hesitant to change employers. I commute atm and would need to be within a commute to the area if we move. It is not cheap to live in a good catchment in that area!

We've costed the long term/total private education with increases (uniform, expensive trips and extra curricula) vs a potential house move, and they are similar chunks of money. I'd hope to have secured most of the fees (y7 to 6th form) before entering private for the reasons you state. We could move to a good catchment and a school change, we could pay for a private school and it turn out not so good! It is a dilemma and a very sad consequence of years of underfunded education and public services.

Given the stretch and my health, I would prefer to not have to do either. But I know I'm not going to have the best of all worlds. Like most, I just want what's best and know this isn't available. There is no easy solution!

Thanks for your time and the reply. I appreciate it.

We are in a similar position in that our local catchment secondary school is pretty poor and other "local" options aren't much better. I say "local" because we are pretty rural and though we live within 2 miles of the catchment school, the next closest school is 7 miles away.

My recommendation would be to start putting the money away for possible private education as soon as possible. If you end up not needing it then no harm done, but if you don't have the funds then you will have no options. Also by saving earlier you will have the advantage of compounding.

I'd also say go and look at your local independent options now. There is no harm in doing it this far out and having yourself marked down as a prospective parent early on can work in your favour - we were told by our first choice independent (not academically selective) that if they are oversubscribed at entry point then they look at how long your child has been registered with the school and give priority to those who have been "on the books" longer.

@cavemum that's really useful to know about being on the books. Not something I considered.

Yes, you're right. Best to just assume this is what's happening and not be caught short and unable to make choices come crunch time.