Ofsted are going to be harder on schools

[Mollymop]

http://news.aol.co.uk/school-inspect...23230977765244

I think it is unfair to rate a school on their exam results. There are children out there that really struggle and have special ed needs, they are unlikely to get a high exam grade which will put pressure on the schools to care more about the high acheivers, give them more help and time and those like my son, who struggle in most subjects will be pushed and pushed or pushed to the side.

What do you think?

[Andrea08]

I have worked in a SEN School where most children dont even take exams, what would ofsted say then ,,,,

my sons's school is a very good school but one yr there was a lot of children attending who needed SSA's and additional help therefore the exam levels were lower for that yr group,,, exam results are not a good way to test a school, there is more to a child than what they can perform on the day of the exam...


Ofsted and the goverment are going mad with different inspection rules and fences to jump,

get it right and stick to it .. as we work in partnership with other settings Ofsted should listen to what teacher, nursery and childminders have to say.

[cuffleygirl]

I wish school was judged on more rounded criteria rather than such an emphasis on results.

We are 'judged' on the whole care package and achievement of and encouraging children to achieve. I feel schools should have a different set of inspection 'hurdles' for primary and secondary school, similar to the differences we follow for EYFS and those no longer in that age ranch.

My sons school (infant) as some play 'equipment' that I have a real problem with as I don't feel it is appropriate, and when I had my inspection I raised it with my inspector and she said that she would not be happy with it in my setting for that age group! It's some old tractor and car tyres randomly spread over the concrete playground, the kids use them to roll around and climb in - its accident waiting to happen - its been raised at governor level and County level by several parents - Ofsted have also been made aware of parents concerns of the safety aspect but they weren't supportive either.

Which makes me cross because if I as a childminder had had parents contact ofsted about a safety issue it would have rightly been taken more seriously!

[uf353432]

oh it makes me so sad this - I just see how its possible to have a fair and inclusive school - if you are going to be judged on exam results that may not be acheivable by children who have difficulites, there by impactive the overall result. Isn't the job of a school difficult enough? I just don't get why exam results are such a focus - surely if the ground work is in place, the kids are in a thriving and happy environment, given opportunity and support - then grades will come - surely the basics have to be there - this is just someone justifying their job title - because it makes no sense

[Daftbat]

I am a school Governor and i agree that schools are far to often being judged by their exam results. The school i am governor at sees peaks and troughs regarding exam results in line with different cohorts with differing abilities as i am sure most other schools do.

We get bogged down with targets, results, comparisons with other similar schools around the country and county and i would much rather that Ofsted concentrated on schools having an effective management team, employing good standards of teaching staff who are committed to their job and provide the required assistance to pupils regardless of there expected achievements in exams. I know from experience that if the right teaching staff with the right Head are in place then the enthusiasm for learning trickles down to all the students (well 95%) and you are much more likely to get the standard of work and results which we would all be proud of.

I think it should make no difference whether a school is graded satisfactory or outstanding in terms of whether they get an announced or unannounced Ofsted visit - just because they got outstanding why should they get announced visits? Surely they should be doing the same things all the time if they are outstanding.

[angeldelight]

Thanks for that

Interesting

Angel xx