Survived my first OFSTED this week

what exactly is the difference between an outstanding school and a failing school -- is it to do with standards in literacy and numeracy?

 

Everything - standards, teaching, safety and welfare of the kids, management, behaviour

 

It's much, much more than that. Schools can fail that have great results if they fail in other areas such as behaviour and safety etc. Also, leafy lane school generally have children that start at higher levels so even if they get great results they could still fail if the children haven't made a lot of progress. Similarly, a school that doesn't have great results can still be outstanding if the children haev progressed well given their starting points.

For anyone genuinely interested, here is the handbook with offers guidance: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/school-inspection-handbook

 

Doesn't teaching have to be outstanding though?

 

Yes, which is why pupils that don't meet national expectations, but have made excellent progress can still be judged outstanding (I believe). Attendance can prevent a school from getting outstanding too, I think 95% is the minimum.

 

Apparently the school near me,Shafton ALC,has security staff throughout the school because of the way kids behave,bouncers the kids call them,is this normal and anything to do with offstead?

 

I've never experienced it at a primary school but it is becoming more common in secondary schools (although I wouldn't call it the norm). I'm not sure it has anything to do with OFSTED unless they only had them during those 2 days. It's probably more for the safety of staff and pupils. I don't know the school's circumstances though, or if that is actually true, so I can't really comment.

 

Its a secondary school,one of those where they flattened two different schools in different areas then built a new one,been a lot of trouble with bullying if the parents comments are anything to go by.

 

Is it the Willowgarth/Priory one on Engine Lane? Willowgarth was my high school.

 

yes,it is.

 

I did part of my teacher training at Willowgarth.... it was ace :/ . . . .

 

Willowgarth was the worst time of my life.

 

Progress ruins the OFSTED rating of junior schools which are seperate to the infants. The infant's kids aren't assessed and given their ratings by the teachers, who are often 'generous' in rating what level the child is at as it reflects well on the school. However, this then means the junior school are incapable of evidencing sufficient progress and can't get outstanding.

 

in one Barnsley school with an inspection looming the parents of the 2 most disruptive pupils in year 6 were 'persuaded' to keep their two boys off school for a couple of days - allegedly

 

That's common - in a previous school one of our weaker teachers was sent on a weeks course

 

We had the opposite problem. 60 of our kids were on residential and three teaching members of management were there.

 

If you read further up the thread they sent Jamdrop away on a school trip but she sadly she got back on time

 

So as I understand it then technically the rest of the year you ARENT at a standard to pass ofsted but it is only the stupid things you arent at standard with,the things that dont impact teaching at all so really is the stuff thry could get rid of without the kids suffering. Sounds like a huge waste of time to me. What do the kids think of ofsted?

 

Haha, mine was a one day only after school time (6:30 - 10:30 at the rugby). I would have gladly gone on a trip and stayed there whilst they did their little visit.

 

To be fair, my displays and things might have been fine, and the planning file I spent ages annotating they didn't even look at (which I knew they wouldn't but the head insisted to us all that they might) but as someone said above, you just don't want to risk it. The kids just know them as important visitors, a few of them told me they were scared when they spoke to them and looked through their books but I think that's just because they want to look good.