Latest Ravenestone Ofstead Report Locked

[nvuser66]

As the original poster of this thread I'd like to say thanks to everyone for their contributions.

A couple of people have asked me what we plan to do now. The honest answer is that we don't yet know. At a recent PTA meeting the head teacher acknowledged the school's failings and has assured the parents that the issues are fixable. The main thing is that he didn't seem to be in denial about it.

As far as this thread goes, it's easy for us to lose sight of the original issue here. The issue is that concerns have been raised about the school, both by Ofsted and by some of the parents on this thread. Pointing out the problems and looking for answers is NOT undermining the school or the students. Focusing on the things the school does right and ignoring the report is simply burying your head in the sand. As for 'personal attacks' - well are they really? Or are they just stating the facts? At the end of the day the school is run by people, and if those people that contribute to running the school are taking this personally then they are not reacting in the manner needed.

What I need as a parent is assurance that the problems will be addressed, and some sort of action plan drawn up and presented to the parents. Our children need to rely on academic performance to further their livelihoods. We should demand nothing less than the school performing at a 'Good' level, be pushing for 'Outstanding', and doing what we can to achieve that.

Until I see some sort of plan for improvement I'll have my suspicions, and I have no reason to think that it's not on its way.

[papinian]

I am going to respond to posters on this thread who have directed comments at me and/or spectulated about my bona fides to post about Ravenstone.

First, I have two children under school age and we live near enough to Ravenstone to be within last year's final distance for allocating places. However, even if we were not, I do not share mungomuffit's view that I do not have a right to comment on the school or its performance. As anyone who looks at the history of my posts on this forum will see I was was commenting on Ravenstone's performance before the Ofsted inspection even happened.

Secondly, I think that I am well within my rights to comment on the fitness to serve of the governors of Ravenstone. Fed up seems to have an issue with governors being mentioned by name here, even though one of them is writing a blog referring to the Ofsted report as nasty and the Ofsted inspectors bastards. I think that is a very big double standard. If governors don't want to be accountable then they shouldn't serve as governors in the first place.

Thirdly, I question the bona fides of posters JustSW17 and Fed up whose only contributions to nappyvalleynet have been on this thread and who have both personally abused me for asking "hard" questions about Ravenstone. I agree with nvuser66 regarding the error of labelling any criticism as "personal attacks".

Fourthly, I question the comments of poster Sandimous who has made some very definite statements about the Ofsted report such that "The report focuses on specific issues, which are currently being addressed. The report in itself doesn't give a complete picture." In answer to mungomuffit's question re Sandimous, she has said in other threads that she is an American who came here from America two years ago and perhaps has a child in reception or year one at Ravenstone. I can only find it amusing that some hostile posters are so quick to dismiss my comments even though I have brought to light some quite interesting information, but are quick to grab on to the comments of those with a good deal less experience of state education in the U.K.

[Medway]

Having now read the Ofsted report, I can fully understand why parents are concerned. It seems that if you are above or below average Ravenstone is not meeting your needs, teaching only 'to the middle'. Immediately after reading Ravenstone's report I reread the Feb 2012 Ofsted report of Fircroft. It makes v interesting comparison as Fircroft have spent the last 4 -5 years focussing hard on attainment and levels of progress. The Deputy Head spends much of her time monitoring and assessing pupil progress via assessment to ensure each individual pupil is making expected levels of progress in maths, reading and writing and as such pupils learn and achieve as they should. This is exactly what Ravenstone have been pulled up for not doing. Since they must have known for the last year an Ofsted was imminent I cannot understand why th e Leadership team was not more focussed in this area as Ofsted are so hot on this. The feedback to the Governing Body is embarrassing for them..they should take up some of the excellent Governing Body training offered by Wandsworth Council. Being an effective Governor/ Governing Body is hard work and requires significant commitment, it is not just about rocking up to a termly meeting you have to fully understand what is going on in the academic side

[Sandimous]

Since I have children in state education and Papinian hasn't, it’s a strange claim that I have “a good deal less experience of state education” than he does.

I posted that the school is addressing the problems raised by Olfsted because that is what the administration told the PTA. They are drawing up an action plan with the help of an outside task group. They’ll be visited before Christmas to assess progress and a published report will follow.

Also, the Olfsted reporting framework changed in September. The rumor circulating is that because it is cheaper to run academies than state schools, the new framework was designed to make it easier to fail schools, so that they can be converted into academies. Maybe someone who knows more about this can comment. In any case, Ravenstone’s prior Olfsted report was created under different guidelines, as were other local school’s reports.

Some things I like about Ravenstone aren’t in the Olfsted report. And things I don’t like about the school aren’t there either. Some of the criticisms in the report, don’t bother me in the least. Everyone has their own idea about what they want from a school, and unless you go in person and ask the questions that matter to your family, you can’t know if a school will be right for you. Don’t let a few bureaucrats make the decision for you.

And a comment about the main criticism in the report: In the school system in NYC, where I’m from, there are 30 kids per class, but the teacher wouldn’t be responsible for teaching to such a wide range of abilities. Children with special educational needs have their own class. High achieving children go into “gifted and talented” classes or schools. Even ESOL students can spend part of the day in an English immersion class. It seems crazy to me that we put all these kids in a classroom and then get upset when they don’t all achieve as much as they should. I know tracking has a downside, but is what we are currently expecting of teachers realistic?

[Cherrysmile]

DH and I have been concerned with our childrens' progress within the school, our own children are vistited by a private tutor once a week as the system in place within Ravenstone School has been all too confusing and has unfortunately, in our view, set our children's education behind their peer groups.

We wholeheartedly agree with the current Ofsted report and we are certain there are quite a few more parents in agreement with but dare not speak out.

The report is there for all to see. The Ofsted inspectors know what they witnessed and haave raised their concerns. Instead of disagreeing with this report, it is a wake up call for the Head and the Governing Body to put a plan into action and turn this result around for the good of all their pupils and the school's reputation.

The Autumn Opening Evening will be held this Wednesday and Thursday and we have been informed that members of the Governing Body will be there to discuss the recent Ofsted report, therefore, hopefully we will get a more detailed description of what their plans are to rectify this.

[Medway]

It sounds like the rather complacent attitude of the Headteacher and Governing Body (I call them complacent because the 2 schools I am connected to spend at least a year before each Ofsted focusing passionately even more than usual, on the areas where they know Ofsted will want to see effort and results, each GB meeting is largely taken up with self montitoring) has been replaced by a vigorous desire to 'turn things around'. This is great and should be fairly easy to do if the staff are as dedicated as some posters say they are.

On the point someone raised about class sizes in the state sector and the difficulty in teaching broad mixed ability in the same class of 30 kids- I am 100% in agreement. It is very contentious to say it - but kids should be streamed according to their ability. Bring back 'sets' for key subjects and grammar schools asap I say. This is the reason why I have limited the number of kids I have, and why I have not had any new clothes for 2 years - I am going private. It's the only way of making sure my kids get the education they deserve and need. It is worth every sacrifice I can make. I would DEARLY love to shop in Whistles and go on foreign holidays - but hey I've had my turn. Ages 5-13 are so important - I want them to try EVERYTHING, play sport, instruments, sing, act, play as much as possible (to find the things they really love), and get into Dulwich College without me having to pay for a personal tutor.

[LauraBrown]

I disagree about the impossibility of teachers teaching mixed ability classes of 30 in primary schools. Some schools in Wandsworth have amazing results with more mixed and challenging intakes than Ravenstone with children of all abilities making really impressive levels of progress.

If you are making the point that state primary schools do not teach to the test required to enter private secondary schools then yes, obviously not. It makes me laugh that this is considered so desirable in private schools when there is so much criticism of state schools teaching to the Y6 SATS test.

My eldest is in Y2 in an average Wandsworth state primary. I see very little difference between what she is doing and her peers in local private schools. I think it is a local myth that private schools are x years ahead of state schools.

There was very interesting recent research that showed that children do better at secondary school where they are higher ranked relative to their peers in their particular primary school (i.e., going to a school with overall lower attainment but where your child is at the top in terms of their attainment would appear to be better than going to the school with top attainment where your child is in the middle of the pack). I must admit that I haven't read the paper in detail (lots of complex maths in there!) but it says they analysed data for more than 2 million children and the hypothesis seems to be that the confidence that comes from being at the top has a significant impact (much more pronounced effect for boys).

http://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp1241.pdf

I also remember this article from the Guardian about children from middle class families suffering no disadvantage from going to poorly-performing state schools. To be honest, this is actually at the heart of this debate about Ravenstone, if your child is well-supported at home with well-educated parents, they will most likely do well at any school and so you may be more concerned about extra-curricular clubs and having a nice PTA. But, this is a bit of an uncomfortable truth because although many of our children will be fine, we still need to make sure our schools deliver for all children... Tricky stuff!

http://www.theguardian.com/education/20 ... schools.uk

Obviously, you've made up your mind medway but for anyone else, reveiw the facts, you may well conclude that your children CAN get the education you want for them at state school...

[LauraBrown]

And I can't remember if someone else has already said this but I believe research shows that class size, streaming etc don't really matter in improving outcomes - it's all about the quality of teaching! (No link I'm afraid for that one)

[headshrinker]

Some schools in Wandsworth have amazing results with more mixed and challenging intakes than Ravenstone with children of all abilities making really impressive levels of progress. ..

Just FYI Ravenstone has a higher percentage of statemented kids than any school in the borough so this is a real issue for them.

I agree though about kids doing well if the parents are educated and involved though. Maybe I am naïve not to be overly concerned by all of this. Or maybe I just don't really care enough about my kid getting into a particular private school.

[Cherrysmile]

Are posters really saying that governors should not be accountable, especially those of them who are only too happy to grab any bit of media exposure they can get?
Ravenstone is not just there to be a school for middle class special needs pupils for whom independent schools are unsuitable (both in the eyes of the parents and the eyes of the school). It has to pay heed to the needs of all of its pupils, including very able pupipls those whose parents don't have the money to have the choice of independent schools. This exact point is one of the criticisms of the Ofsted report. Unfortunately, the clique among the governors has contributed to the problems.
Those posters who want to act like ostriches can do so, but don't expect the rest of us to stick our heads in the sand with you.

My DH and I concur with Papinian's statement. We both work full time, often working over time, therefore are unable to hob, nob with the inner circle (clique) among the Governors and PTA. We shall carry on as we have done (top up tutoring) with our DC.

[SW12Pop]

When reading the two latest Ravenstone Ofsted reports, it sounds as if they are describing two different schools. But the school’s management hasn’t changed much in the period between the inspections. Ravenstone’s downgraded Ofsted rating may not correspond to a decrease in the quality of management or teaching. What we see in the two reports is changes in Ofsted. Ravenstone is one of many maintained primary schools to feel the effects of Education Secretary Michael Gove and his follower Sir Michael Wilshaw’s march toward school privatisation.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... ry-schools

[headshrinker]

I agree SW12pop. Having read quite a few Ofsted reports over the past few weeks I have noticed completely different formats and assessment criteria, making comparisons really difficult. I feel sorry for parents selecting schools right now as it is really confusing.

[Cronut]

Did anyone attend one of the recent open mornings at the school?

It would be great to have some feedback with regards to what was said etc

[Sandimous]

I attended one. They expect an updated report to be published soon - I think before Christmas. Also, the newest test scores have come in and it sounds like they were pleased with the results.

[Annabel (admin)]

Hi Everyone
I want to lock this particular thread.

It's moved in a couple of different directions and with 92 replies its in danger of turning into a forum in itself! Every time someone replies to this thread we send out 91 emails to the previous posters so its gets a bit cumbersome.

So I've locked it but split off the replies that Mungo Muffit and others made about Ofsted inspections etc.

This is not in any way to try to curtail the discussion but it was becoming a little unwieldy.

Thanks