1: She’s in year 5 – her teachers in yr 5 and yr 6 will be under the most pressure as the school’s improvement will largely be judged on the next couple of year’s Yr 6 exam results. Within reason, be as nice as you can to them – even if you don’t think they’re very good – they’re likely doing 60+ hour weeks with physical and mental health suffering and the ones that care may be inexperienced or have done badly under inspection but will be fighting for their jobs for the next 6 months
You can be nice to them, because…
2: There’s very little evidence that even inadequate schools damage the life chances of children with a lot of social capital out side of school (books at home, parents who involve them in conversations about the world and include them in aspects of daily life e.g. shopping, being exposed to people who are different, being encouraged to develop essential life skills such as speaking in front of others, being encouraged to take up hobbies, etc)
2.1: Likewise, there is little evidence that even an Ofsted rated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ school will do significantly affect the life chances of children without the above described social capital. This phenomenon can be seen in the working class kids now entering university in higher numbers due to an improvement in academic grades in poorer social groups but being/feeling alienated by the confidence, entitlement and networking of the traditional university demographic.
2.2: You might see an increase in homework! It is pure box-ticking as there is little evidence that worksheet based homework is effective. Reading and real-world projects are different. It is up to you whether you play along to help the teachers who will be being asked to produce homework (and mark it) or to prevent your child from getting in trouble…
3: The chances are the school isn’t as bad as it looks and that the best schools are not as good as they look. An Ofsted inspection is a performance that a school prepares for, knowing it is due. I have taught in a school that received a ‘Requires Improvement’ (the grade above inadequate) and one which received an Outstanding grade. (And subsequently quit teaching because relentless preparation for inspections wore me out). My partner also taught in another which received Outstanding. My perception was that the school which received the lower grade was actually better in terms of overall ‘pulling out all the stops’ to help the children and more thoughtful, bespoke and detailed planning. However, it had a more challenging demographic and Ofsted demand to see significant ‘progress’ within a single lesson and well as good Yr 6 results, which wasn’t always possible. An Ofsted-tastic lesson is not necessarily a good lesson – it involves more resources and preparation than are reasonable and is often a stand-alone ‘Wow’ lesson, not a meaningful, but maybe more low-key, part of a longer project that builds upon previous learning and feeds into the next.
4: Obviously, despite the above, there are some real hallmarks of true inadequacy where health and safety and safeguarding are concerned. Unfortunately my experience is that these areas can actually get worse as the school focuses heavily on academic improvement and teachers prioritise planning and assessment. Teachers are will be retained or gotten rid of on the basis of their teaching, planning and assessment and unless something glaringly serious happens, wellbeing can be ignored to an extent.
