Grenoside School

[Panasonic]

Good to see so much support for the staff and pupils in this thread. Normally when a school is put into special measures there's a whole raft of people queuing up to stick the boot in and confirm the findings. There's a distinct lack of that kind of thing, both here and on the radio Sheffield report I've just listened to. I'm sure there's nothing strange going on though, it must be that the inspectors saw things that nobody else does and all these parents are missing something.

 

Whilst the Inspectors are obviously privy to information that the parents don't see, the parents are THE expert witnesses on the day to day running of the school. I have yet to meet one parent who thinks it is in any way unsatisfactory. I'm sure there are one or two out there, but basically people I've spoken to are stunned by the report.

[Rainking]

Whilst the Inspectors are obviously privy to information that the parents don't see, the parents are THE expert witnesses on the day to day running of the school. I have yet to meet one parent who thinks it is in any way unsatisfactory. I'm sure there are one or two out there, but basically people I've spoken to are stunned by the report.

 

Thanks for the reply.

[FreudianSlap]

Wow. Just noticed this thread. As a lot of others have said, this is baffling. What's more baffling is Meynell, down the road scraped through at 'requires improvement (3)' (Which is probably an accurate assessment.) Grenoside is a world better than Meynell... But guess what, Meynell had already voted to convert to academy status before the inspection - the only reason it wasn't given special measures IMO.

 

Sidenote: Rivelin school is also being inspected today. I would predict it will achieve a 'requires improvement (3)'. As far as I know Rivelin has no plans to convert to academy at present... It will be interesting to see the outcome.

 

Source: Supply work in all three schools.

 

---------- Post added 12-09-2013 at 13:05 ----------

 

Anyone that reads the report carefully, will see exactly why the school may not be doing its job properly.

 

I have seen numerous reports where OFSTED have outright lied about what is going on, depsite being shown strong evidence to the contrary. I don't know about that particular statement, but believe me, a report is not worth the paper its written on.

[becj28]

It appears to me that ofstead put schools into special measures to force them to become academy's. If they believe and have proof that academy's are so fantastic why not give schools an above board inspection and put the choice in the hands of parents if they want their kids in an academy by way of a vote and an explanation.

[Panasonic]

If anyone knows of any accepted ways for parents to voice their opinions post report I'd happily tell them what I think. Cant see on the orders site though

[claudius]

as a teacher who has been through the ofsted mill at least 5 times and been through a"notice to improve"phase-you feel sometimes that they arrive with pre-conceptions and set out to prove it- a poor report doesn't necessarily mean the children will suffer- though at Grenoside i did hear dark rumblings from teachers about the senior management!

[cgksheff]

The report says that certain things that are expected from a school were lacking.

 

The school will have had the opportunity to present evidence to contradict such claims prior to release of the final report.

 

Wait and see what the school leadership has to say about it before going off half-cocked.

 

If the school is as good as parents claim, what is the issue?

[Grenmrs]

I have to say I fully expected a surprise like this. From reading the report, it states several times that a certain person wasn't telling the Governors the whole story and not running the school as it should be. That person strangely disappeared at the end of Summer term, 5 months before being officially retiring. That says something.

Also, I am aware that the teaching staff were also unhappy with the running of the school, being in tears and not wanting to come back to school - before Ofsted even came in. For a school to be inspected that soon after being judged as Outstanding, there would have to be SERIOUS complaints from parents, or be an issue with safeguarding our children. I am also aware that the school has failed several children with special needs, be it from the more serious special needs to problems with learning such as dyslexia. Bullying was also not dealt with effectively (in my experience).

The fact that it is in special measures can only improve the school and I for one think that even though on the surface it looks like a good school with happy kids who are learning well, there are always ways to improve, and not all children reached the standard they could have if they'd had better support, and not all children are happy there even though most probably are.

Just my opinion. Now I'm off to the meeting for more info.

[Grenoside123]

Is there any mileage in the parents writing letters to the school expressing their satisfaction with the teaching standards? The School could then pass the letters on to Ofsted.

 

I've got a soft spot for the school, even though I didn't go there myself.

 

When I was at infant/junior school in the 70's, all the kids living in the bottom half of Grenoside (Below A61) went to either Mansel or St Thomas More's.....is that still the case?

 

Regards

 

Doom

 

There is a contact form on the Ofsted Site for comments/complaints etc. I have expressed my thoughts about the report on there, not that it will make any difference to the outcome but wanted them to know my positive experiences of the school all the same.

When you feel something is so wrong I believe that you should make your thoughts known plus having a good rant (in a polite way of course) does make you feel a bit better at least.

[Panasonic]

If the school is as good as parents claim, what is the issue?

 

I think the issue is that the reputation of the school and its staff has been slaughtered, unfairly in the opinions of most parents. The problems it appears lay with one person who has now left, and the rest of the team has to carry the can.

 

I know I wouldn't want my professional reputation damaged by a ridiculous judgement that doesn't reflect the situation.

 

It's an unfair summary of a school that consistently performs above the national average.

 

The conspiracy theorist in me says that good schools like Grenoside are being targeted. Compulsary Academy status, and then lo and behold 3 -5 years down the line, a school which was performing perfectly well, in the first place, forced into a status it never wanted, is now demonstrating how well Academies work. It's disgusting.