Requires improvement - any positive experiences?

[bigredboat]

DD is just finishing year 5. Catchment secondary (school A) has just had its 2nd requires improvement Ofsted inspection, it did improve in some areas but criticism that change hasn’t happened quickly enough. Behaviour seems a big focus of the report as well as low expectations (although this has improved between reports). We live at the edge of catchment and the next closest school (school B) is only 5 mins further away, kids from her primary do go to this school but based on allocation data over the last few years she wouldn’t have got in so I think it’s likely she’ll go to school A. School B has a Good Ofsted and better reputation locally.

Has anyone had positive experiences of a requires improvement secondary? Are there likely to be lots of changes over the next year so it will be better by the time she starts?

I’m not too worried as DD is bright, sporty and sensible and she has a nice group of friends who will probably go to the same school. I’m sure she’ll be fine wherever she goes but I do want what’s best for her obviously.

My DC went to a school that was Good when DS1 joined, moved to RI, had a further RI inspection. Tbh that one concerned me as T&L was RI, which I regard as the most important element in many ways. But the other positives about the school – very local (this was really important for us) and friends going there – overrode any thoughts of moving them (even if we could have). My DC had a decent experience – by which I mean that any issues they did have would probably have come up at any school. A lot of their teaching (for example DS2 maths A level and biology all through, DS1 catering, DD drama, KS3 history for all, DD music) was actually very good. School is now Good again.

I guess it depends to what extent poor behaviour will affect your DD – will she get irritated by it and not focus? Will she join in? Will she accept it and get on? Not that any student or teacher should have to put up with low-level disruption. I recall DS2 in particular had a robust attitude of “well they are annoying but I’m just gonna get on” – it improved loads in sixth form when all the disruptors left or had better focus.

Our local secondary was RI 2 years before our DC went but it was taken over by an academy which brought in really strict discipline rules and new teachers. 5 years later it's now Good. So things can change but it really depends on the leadership.

The school was still pretty bad when DC started but it was fine, he's a quiet clever type.

Our local secondary was RI until a couple of years before DD started, and again from a couple of years after until she'd left. The primary was RI for her last 18 months there.
I loved the quote from one mum when the primary went into RI: "Well if that's what 'requires improvement' looks like, I'm no longer worried about the secondary."
DD had a great time at both schools, and did very well academically. She had one poor teacher at the primary (long gone before the RI judgement), and I can only think of one poor teacher at the secondary, plus one department where I was unconvinced by the teaching strategy, although the teachers were fine. I think you'd be lucky to do much better than that.

Look at what the reasons are for the judgement. Sometimes it is quite a limited number of issues, and may not affect your child. Talk to parents - what is their experience? Bullying was one of the named issues at the secondary, but none of my daughter's large friendship group of neurodivergent and/or geeky kids ever had any problems with bullying.

Also look at what they are doing about things. The inspection judgement will often force a focus on whatever the issue was, and things may improve rapidly. A key thing is how that is done, and whether leadership are supporting teaching staff to improve things, or just introducing their own initiatives which put so much pressure on staff that they are counterproductive. Are staff leaving at an unusually high rate? That's usually a bad sign. Check their vacancy list - if they are still advertising for September now then that's worrying, as that suggests they're struggling to recruit. Teachers have to resign by the end of May to leave at the end of the school year, so vacancies are usually filled by now.

DS’s school was RI when he went, got Outstanding just as he was leaving 5 years later. But they had a new head and had got good results so I could see an upward trajectory. Do you know what their plan is?

I’m imaging they might discuss improvement plans at the open evenings? I’ve heard mixed reviews from parents with kids already there, the biggest gripe is the very strict approach to things like uniform and having a working pen whilst more serious bad behaviour and bullying isn’t addressed thoroughly.