York school slips in Ofsted rating (From York Press)

Here we go again what's the betting it will be forced to go to Academy status as other seemingly 'failing' schools rather convienient for Gove's plans methinks!!!

these things only apply if you trust their testing criteria.personally i don t and believe that they are manipulated to suit.i d be very very angry if i was mr brown and it must be tempting to give the inspectors a piece of your mind.

roskoboskovic says...
8:41am Mon 18 Mar 13

these things only apply if you trust their testing criteria.personally i don t and believe that they are manipulated to suit.i d be very very angry if i was mr brown and it must be tempting to give the inspectors a piece of your mind.”

Sorry, but did you write and puntuate this with some sort of irony or humour in mind? Because all I can think about is whether you were at one of Mr Brown's schools and he never got round to checking up on your English teacher in line with the report's criticism of him. :)

Yep - once again we see good schools mysteriously failing inspections- so Gove's non-democratic and non-accountable 'academy' scheme can be rolled out, despite the fact that there is no evidence it works. So much for the much vaunted Tory value of choice- no choice for the school here, not for the parents...

Pete the Brickie wrote:

roskoboskovic says... 8:41am Mon 18 Mar 13 these things only apply if you trust their testing criteria.personally i don t and believe that they are manipulated to suit.i d be very very angry if i was mr brown and it must be tempting to give the inspectors a piece of your mind.”

Sorry, but did you write and puntuate this with some sort of irony or humour in mind? Because all I can think about is whether you were at one of Mr Brown's schools and he never got round to checking up on your English teacher in line with the report's criticism of him. :)

Syntax !

puntuate !!!???

yorkiemum wrote:
Here we go again what's the betting it will be forced to go to Academy status as other seemingly 'failing' schools rather convienient for Gove's plans methinks!!!

So you would be quite happy to just let teachers who are not performing to the best of their ability just sit back and think all is rosy in the garden?
Why should pupils and parents have to settle for second best ?
There are plus points noted by the inspectors so one would expect the school to maintain those standards and improve in the areas where weaknesses have been identified.
Hiding behind peoples dislike of Governments to excuse poor standards simply will not wash. Get on with the job. There are schools out there which do come up to scratch so it is possible and that should be every schools aspiration.

... perhaps it's time Ofsted set teachers annual exams during their summer 'holiday' to determine whether they are competent to teach the following school year. It's not in the interest of head teachers to admit to failing standards and teachers in their schools so an independant annual check would be ideal.

bob the builder wrote:
... perhaps it's time Ofsted set teachers annual exams during their summer 'holiday' to determine whether they are competent to teach the following school year. It's not in the interest of head teachers to admit to failing standards and teachers in their schools so an independant annual check would be ideal.

Good to read the sum total of your knowledge about education and the running of schools. Perhaps it's time that builders' standards of craftsmanship were subject to rigorous yearly examination to determine whether or not they are competent to practise the following year. It's not in the interest of builders to admit to failing standards and builders in their firms (sic) so an independent annual check would be ideal.

bloodaxe wrote:

bob the builder wrote:
... perhaps it's time Ofsted set teachers annual exams during their summer 'holiday' to determine whether they are competent to teach the following school year. It's not in the interest of head teachers to admit to failing standards and teachers in their schools so an independant annual check would be ideal.

Good to read the sum total of your knowledge about education and the running of schools. Perhaps it's time that builders' standards of craftsmanship were subject to rigorous yearly examination to determine whether or not they are competent to practise the following year. It's not in the interest of builders to admit to failing standards and builders in their firms (sic) so an independent annual check would be ideal.

Quite, we could do with some more checks on us on top of Trading Standards, The HSE, The Building Employers Confederation, The CSCS, our insurance company, our bank, CHAS audits, supplier's guarantee audits, customer's safety audits and the Inland Revenue. That would be ideal.

bloodaxe wrote:

bob the builder wrote:
... perhaps it's time Ofsted set teachers annual exams during their summer 'holiday' to determine whether they are competent to teach the following school year. It's not in the interest of head teachers to admit to failing standards and teachers in their schools so an independant annual check would be ideal.

Good to read the sum total of your knowledge about education and the running of schools. Perhaps it's time that builders' standards of craftsmanship were subject to rigorous yearly examination to determine whether or not they are competent to practise the following year. It's not in the interest of builders to admit to failing standards and builders in their firms (sic) so an independent annual check would be ideal.

a builder is constantly monitored. If he does shoddy work his reputation dwindles and he will not get work.

I'm glad Ofsted has seen this school for what it is. I pulled my daughter out of Clifton Green Primary School as she was unhappy and being bullied. After having a meeting with the head to discuss this my general impression was that he was aware of bullying throughout the school but was unable to control it as it is such a big problem. He made no attempt to convince me my daughter was at the right school. She has since moved to Lakeside, has made lots of new friends, is much happier and is doing much better with her work.

Both my children attend Clifton Green Primary and I am proud to say so. I have total confidence in Dave Brown - I think he is a breath of fresh air and I have total confidence in his staff. My children have been nothing but nurtured, engaged and well educated at this school and I support him whole-heartedly. Those who can't teach become Ofsted inspectors....

Edwin Duckbooster wrote:
I'm glad Ofsted has seen this school for what it is. I pulled my daughter out of Clifton Green Primary School as she was unhappy and being bullied. After having a meeting with the head to discuss this my general impression was that he was aware of bullying throughout the school but was unable to control it as it is such a big problem. He made no attempt to convince me my daughter was at the right school. She has since moved to Lakeside, has made lots of new friends, is much happier and is doing much better with her work.

I think anyone would be sad when a child has had a really bad time at a school, all bullying is totally wrong. It sounds like the fresh start has worked well, which is certainly the best possible outcome for your daughter and you, although its a shame that a move became necessary.

I've also recently been a parent at the school and I'm amazed at what you say about the bullying being a big issue though. I can't think of many schools where I've heard so few people mentioning it as a problem. Of course bullying exists in every school occassionally and you can certainly pay huge fees at private schools and see the very worst of it. But in my time going in and out of Clifton Green I've not had any big concerns or heard other parents talking like that. That is not to say your experience wasn't bad Edwin but I did want to give my view too.

I do think Ofsted did see the school for what it is - lots of good but with clearly some issues to get on track. I hope they manage to get a good next time round, I think its what they deserve.

Scary what Ofsted are doing under government direction. If anyone thinks this is not the case, do some reading round the subject. Oh and maybe have a think about the poor exam results scandal last year if you want any more proof.
Like the FSA did the government's bidding with not controlling lending in the 1990s and 2000s (thus fueling the false booms), Ofsted are an arm of government policy now and it stinks.

Over 50% of secondary schools are now academies. Do people not realise what is happening.
As for teachers - there were some shocking ones in the past and sacking one was nigh impossible. Things have improved and could improve further. But just because that is so, don't think Ofsted are all about improving standards because they are not.

CaroleBaines wrote:
Over 50% of secondary schools are now academies. Do people not realise what is happening.
As for teachers - there were some shocking ones in the past and sacking one was nigh impossible. Things have improved and could improve further. But just because that is so, don't think Ofsted are all about improving standards because they are not.

So very very true!! Its about time people woke up to the fact that this is all political and for those who commented about bad teaching etc. I bet they haven't been in a school for years, its amazing how many people become experts on education when really they know 'nowt' How demoralising do you think it is for the staff in these school not only to be told you're crap but all you do is crap.

yorkiemum wrote:

CaroleBaines wrote:
Over 50% of secondary schools are now academies. Do people not realise what is happening.
As for teachers - there were some shocking ones in the past and sacking one was nigh impossible. Things have improved and could improve further. But just because that is so, don't think Ofsted are all about improving standards because they are not.

So very very true!! Its about time people woke up to the fact that this is all political and for those who commented about bad teaching etc. I bet they haven't been in a school for years, its amazing how many people become experts on education when really they know 'nowt' How demoralising do you think it is for the staff in these school not only to be told you're crap but all you do is crap.

I am a teacher and do know that Ofsted is not the be all and end all, however, schools are much less able to 'pull the wool' over Ofsted's eyes these days, with little time to prepare. If you read Clifton Green's Ofsted report you will see that there are basic things, such as performance management of staff, lacking and so yes, leaders of schools, who get paid good salaries, should be held accountable. I know schools who have been satisfactory in the past that have been graded as good under the new Ofsted system. It does work the other way round and is not all political at all. Nobody enjoys Ofsted inspections but they often highlight things that should be happening and need addressing. A school doesn't just slip from 'Outstanding' to 'Requires Improvement' for no reason.