Ellie Jameson - 14 Jan 18
With the primary school application deadline looming, I’m seeing an increasing amount of anxiety-inducing content on social media and in the press about school places.
‘How to get your child into a top performing school’
‘Not enough school places’
Even ‘How to appeal if you don’t get your first choice’
Of course, everyone wants the best for their child, and for many people that means an ‘outstanding’ (or at the very least ‘good’) school. But the reality is, there aren’t enough places in ‘outstanding’ schools to go around. Someone has to compromise. And does ‘outstanding’ really mean anything anyway?
When I applied for a school place for my eldest child, back in 2016, I chose a school in special measures as my first choice. This year, I have again chosen the same school for my middle child. Here’s why…
Firstly, and most importantly it’s my nearest school. That is to say, we can walk there. I know there will be lots of you reading this, who don’t have the luxury of being able to walk to a primary school. There will be lots of you who can maybe walk to two, three or even four. But if, like me, you live in sensible walking distance of just the one school, think very carefully before you disregard it.
Walking to school is amazing. You can tick the vitamin D, fresh air and exercise boxes without any extra effort. You can incorporate scooter or bike riding, and road safety lessons. It’s better for the environment and you don’t have to fight for a parking space. It’s also better for you mentally. Even if getting out of the house is stressful, once you’ve had a walk in the open air, you’re all far calmer by the time you reach school. It’s a great way to start and end the day, and, having spent the last year and a half with that luxury, I wouldn’t give it up without a seriously good reason.
And secondly, too, it’s my nearest school. By which I mean there’s a sense of fairness at stake here. I feel that its kind of wrong try and take a school place off a child that lives near a ‘better’ school, when there is a place available for my child in our ‘designated school’? Especially if I get that coveted place because I’m good at writing letters/rich enough to move into the area (I’m definitely not by the way, hence the special measures school on my doorstep)/able to lie about where I live. I felt (especially as an ex-teacher, who had seen an Ofsted-related mass-exodus of middle-class children from a school I worked in) that it was only fair to give our local school a go.
Thirdly, I asked other parents what they thought. It’s all well and good to make your assessment of a school based on a report from a two day visit, made by some suit-wearing robots with dubious integrity (who the hell becomes an Ofsted inspector?) but it might be more effective to actually ask the ‘clients’ of the school, the people who have been relying on the service it provides, for years, what they think. I was lucky that two of my ex-work colleagues (who happened to both be English teachers too) had children in our nearest school. They spoke very highly of it. In fact even the Ofsted report itself had to begrudgingly admit that parental satisfaction was high. Other parents I spoke to locally were happy too. They had nothing but praise for the teachers, and the experience that their child was having.
Ofsted reports and ratings are based largely on data, and a lot of that data comes from SATs results. These tests have no real benefit for children. Practicing for them is a bit like training a dog for Crufts. The children learn to perform a long list of party tricks, but don’t learn a huge amount that is actually useful or will help them in any way. The SATs exist, mainly so teachers and schools can be ranked, assessed on their performance, and held to account. In fact, most secondary schools disregard the SATs scores in favour of carrying out their own tests to assess the pupils at the start of year 7. By demanding that your child goes to a good or outstanding school, you might just be demanding that they go to a school that is very good at teaching pupils to pass a particular test.
Fourthly, a lot can change in seven years. Even, if like me, you are very cynical about Ofsted and SATs, you know that the school will be working hard, often with the support of outside agencies, academy trusts and other schools and practitioners, to improve. It is likely that a few years down the line the school will have a very different grade. (In the case of our local school, it probably is already no longer ‘failing’ but for some reason Ofsted haven’t been bothered to come back. Perhaps they’ve put so many schools in special measures now they can’t keep up with demand.)
Fifthly, I know that generally speaking, schools are very similar. I have worked (in various roles) in around 15 different schools in my area, and my experiences have been pretty standard. You meet some lovely kids, you meet some challenging kids. You meet incredible, inspirational teachers, and you meet teachers who have given up and are simply hanging on for retirement. You see a fantastic concert in one school, an amazing art exhibition in another, an unbeatable football team, incredible residential trips, a wonderful anti-bullying network… the list goes on. I can honestly say that all schools have individual strengths and weaknesses, regardless of what grade Ofsted have given them, and you have to experience a school for yourself, by actually visiting, or even better joining in with their community events, to really see what it’s like.
Sixthly, with a school that is not over subscribed, you’re almost guaranteed to get your place, which takes away all the anxiety of school-place-allocation-day. And if you have younger children, and like any sensible parent, would like them all to go to school in the same place, then this is almost guaranteed too. It’s not all bad!
And finally, what really matters, is whether your child will be happy. Not what reading band they’re on by Christmas, not what phonics programme they are following, not whether they can join up their handwriting by age 5, but whether they are happy. My daughter has loved school from day one. She adored her reception teacher (shout out to Mrs R, described to me by a fellow parent as Mary Poppins!) and because she was happy, and felt valued and safe, she has made great progress.
So if you don’t get your first choice school in April, please don’t despair. You will probably discover lovely things about your child’s allocated school, that you had no idea existed. And if you’re still making your mind up, just remember. A school is so much more than the sum of their Ofsted report.
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Hi, I'm Ellie, Wife, Mum to three little girls, part-time teacher, part-time illustrator and part-time stay at home mum (if such a thing exists!). Life is busy but good. I'm based in Cornwall, UK, which is beautiful, especially when the sun is out. We love escaping from work and having adventures in the great outdoors.
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