Kingsdale School Ofsted?

[Curmudgeon]

IME teachers complain - a helluva lot

But I suppose this is one of those situations where we all read the available report and consider the glass half full or the glass half empty. Although perhaps there's no such thing as a half-empty glass - perhaps the other half is (hot) air :))

[HannahSE23]

I know a lovely teacher who left Kingsdale last year because of the pressure. She was truly miserable there.

[Metallic]

Curmudgeon Wrote:

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> IME teachers complain - a helluva lot

>

> But I suppose this is one of those situations

> where we all read the available report and

> consider the glass half full or the glass half

> empty. Although perhaps there's no such thing as a

> half-empty glass - perhaps the other half is (hot)

> air :))

Not a smiling matter at all, in fact considering I was admonished earlier on for using strong language I consider that the end of this report shows some serious issues are going to be monitored by another visit and I do not think that is funny at all.

[intexasatthe moment]

Ofsted don't use the word " complaints " they say " criticisms and concerns " and go on to say that many of them are

"are serious and substantial".

Which doesn't sound as though Ofsted regard this is just another group of whingeing teachers who are sounding off again .

[Curmudgeon]

lMetallic Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Curmudgeon Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > IME teachers complain - a helluva lot

> >

> > But I suppose this is one of those situations

> > where we all read the available report and

> > consider the glass half full or the glass half

> > empty. Although perhaps there's no such thing as

> a

> > half-empty glass - perhaps the other half is

> (hot)

> > air :))

> Not a smiling matter at all, in fact considering I

> was admonished earlier on for using strong

> language I consider that the end of this report

> shows some serious issues are going to be

> monitored by another visit and I do not think that

> is funny at all.

Well I'm sorry you can't see anything to smile about but have to admit this post was in relation to the previous one from 'intexas'

I think the report is overall positive with some issues raised by a minority of teachers that we can all be hopeful will be dealt with adequately - and we can be certain will constitute part of the next inspection

[Metallic]

SIGNIFICANT minority

[Curmudgeon]

yes that is the adjective used much as "The LARGE majority of staff are very positive about the way in which the school is led and managed"

I will reiterate that I am hopeful that the issues raised by the other staff are dealt with adequately

[Carbonara]

Yes, significant minority, serious and substantial, criticisms and concerns.

It was still fatuous to suggest that the school would be instantly plunged into special measures.

Since it is a school which children do well in and parents are happy with the governors will hopefully now deal with any issues outstanding.

Are interviews between staff and Ofsted in confidence and reported anonymously? Will the school have been told of the nature of the 'criticisms and concerns'?

[Metallic]

Adequately? I think a better phrase could be used: "....hopeful that the issues raised by the other staff are taken on board and a successful discussion ensues in which all the contentious issues are addressed by all parties leading to the satisfaction of all Kingsdale staff."

You can see my background I expect - I have never been a teacher but I do have a mediation background.

[prickle]

Curmudgeon said "IME teachers complain - a helluva lot

But I suppose this is one of those situations where we all read the available report and consider the glass half full or the glass half empty. Although perhaps there's no such thing as a half-empty glass - perhaps the other half is (hot) air big grin :))"

Surprised that now your child will be attending the school that you are not more concerned!

The school is not off the hook and the allegations are not just hot air. It is serious enough that ofsted are proposing to investigate sooner than later. I predict an exodus of those teachers who are not happy.

If I had a child at the school, I will be putting pressure on the school to get to the bottom of this rather than just brush it under the carpet.

[Curmudgeon]

Why should I be more concerned than to be hopeful that this will be dealt with?

Why shouldn't I be relieved that the large majority of staff praise the high quality of support they receive from the middle and senior leaders

Why shouldn't I be delighted at the comments from the students and teachers

there will be a parent forum, a PTA and a board of governors to apply the 'pressure on the school' you speak of, and I would hope a concerned SLT who will not need pressure to deal with the 'serious and substantial' issues raised

[prickle]

Quite right that you should be delighted that your child has got into KD. The school on the whole is very good and the ofsted report bears this out.

But I raise my eyebrows at those parents who would rather see, hear or speak no evil of the school, as clearly there are and have been concerns. Also from what I have heard, it is some elements of the SLT that are related to the 'serious and substatial' issues raised.

[Debster99]

As a parent and a teacher in FE i am very satisfied with the report. My primary concern is that my child's educational experience and general wellbeing whilst at school meets my expectations or in best case exceeds it. Nothing in the report suggests that isn't currently the case and points below enhance my belief in Kingsdale as the correct school for my son. I understand that others may have a different experience and we must all remember that a school the size of Kingsdale will never satisfy all its members.

"students were making good progress in their learning

Students are polite, courteous and very friendly; their behaviour in lessons and around the site does them great credit.

Students enjoy school and appreciate the good relationships they have with staff.

Students concentrate well and remain highly focused in lessons.

Most of the parents and carers who responded to the inspection questionnaire or spoke to inspectors share this very positive view of the school"

Education or anywhere in the public sector is extremely testing at present , most of us are on 3 yr pay freezes and indeed working around the clock to meet performance targets so that we get funding to keep our jobs etc etc. Where i work a large number of staff are on long term stress related leave , we have heavy union presence and bitching & stiching is common place in the common room. It doesn't mean we hate teaching or indeed take these issues into the classroom. Infact the class room is where most of us are happiest.

I wouldn't read too much into this apart from Kingsdale has made huge significant changes over the past few years , that alongside Gov pressure to perform to maintain funding , jobs etc will naturally lead to an increase in very unhappy and often angry and irrational ( if suffering from stress) team members. Many find change very difficult and will often rebel - i wonder if there is any correlation between the satisfactory teaching and those who are disaffected ?

As said before son is totally happy ,positively skips to school and academically thriving even in English which was his nemesis at primary.

If you are lucky enough to have a place here then feel very confident that your child will settle quickly , make great friends and truly love going to school. If you haven't then stick with it as waiting list shifts very quickly, even into term 1. It is worth the wait.

Kingsdale kid's are very proud of their school and are a happy thriving bunch , that as a parent ticks my box.

[Metallic]

On sick leave due to stress. What an indictment of teaching. Whether you are on a pay freeze or not, the fact that there are obvious problems within this staff room is worrying because the young inexperienced but wholeheartedly enthusiastic teachers are the ones most likely to succumb to stress.

[MGolden]

Metallic Wrote:

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> On sick leave due to stress. What an indictment

> of teaching. Whether you are on a pay freeze or

> not, the fact that there are obvious problems

> within this staff room is worrying because the

> young inexperienced but wholeheartedly

> enthusiastic teachers are the ones most likely to

> succumb to stress.

Metallic, I'm sure Debster99 will correct me if I'm wrong but I read her post as meaning staff in her staff room are off with stress. I don't think she has said she knows anything about the sick leave of Kingsdale staff.

Or were you assuming that what is happening in Debster99's place of work is happening throughout education?

[Metallic]

I took it as a general observation because it is not unheard of is it?

[MGolden]

No it's not but it's not more likely to be young and inexperienced members of staff either. I know of experienced members of staff in public sector organisations who develop work related stress because of changes in working practices and demands so I think we need to be cautious when drawing conclusions.

[Debster99]

Just to confirm that MGolden is absolutely correct.

I am referring to the FE college where i work , i have absolutely no knowledge of what goes on inside Kingsdale staff room or do i wish to speculate.

I am simply stating that there are current issues of discontent within the public sector , nor am i supporting those with stress related grievances. I have hardly had a day off in 20 odd years.

What i guess i am saying is that if in the current climate that the majority of Kingsdale staff feel well supported and that the kids are thriving and their well being is in good hands then i am a happy parent.

[betterinthesun]

So the report was finally released! Whilst it wasn't negative, it was certainly not something you would expect to read about an 'Outstanding' school. It was nowhere near as positive as their inspection a couple of years ago. It seems as though the shine that the school wore has rubbed off some what. A friend who went to the last parent's forum (who alerted me to the fact that they were told by the Head Teacher that what was said in meetings was confidential? How that is even controllable is a bit baffling) told me that the Head Teacher said that he was willing to work things out or at least open a dialogue with the unhappy staff, this would be good because it had also been noticed in the meeting that in recent months teachers have been disappearing, if this is related, it would be good to sort the situation out. If it is totally unrelated, well surely dialogue and some form of communication between the two sides would be advisable after all it is the students who will get caught up in it in the long run. I just hope for all involved that management can see that.

[betterinthesun]

I also forgot to say that I was told at the same Parent's Forum meeting they have at the school, the Head Teacher said something about Management only being able to be graded as highly as the teaching in the school hence why they will not get Outstanding on their full inspection whenever that may be. Well if this is the case then yes obviously concentrate on improving teaching but also is this just another way of covering up another problem which is that management too need to develop and change certain behaviours?

[village people]

I have a daughter in year 10 at Kingsdale who is extremely happy to be there. As a parent I welcome the report and am pleased to read that Ofsted still consider the school to have the same fine qualities it recognised in the full inspection of 2010. To arrive at the school with only 30 minutes notice and to be able to report on such positives is a wonderful achievement:

* Students are polite, courteous and very friendly; their behaviour in lessons and around the site does them great credit.

* Students enjoy school and appreciate the good relationships they have with staff.

* Students feel safe and secure in school and say that incidents of bullying are rare and, when they occur, are dealt with quickly and effectively.

* The school's arrangements for safeguarding are robust and meet statutory requirements.

* Staff are provided with clear, detailed and helpful guidance to support their work in this area.

* Students concentrate well and remain highly focused in lessons.

* The large majority of staff are very positive about the way in which the school is led and managed. Many praise the high quality of support that they receive from the school's middle and senior leaders.

Isn't this exactly what we want from a school for our children? I find it odd that some people, when sharing their views on the report, chose to ignore these outstanding points and focus instead on the 'small minority of staff' whose experience at the school differs significantly to the majority.

I have worked (no, not Kingsdale) in several secondary schools and have yet to come across one where 100% of the staff are happy with everything. Pressure is put on schools by continually changing government policies, targets and guidelines. This can result in new working practices having to be implemented, sometimes with very little time and this can be very stressful to staff, who perhaps have to change their working ways. Teaching has become too bogged down with bureaucracy and administration; however the management is duty bound to see that this is fulfilled and it is a fact of life that not everyone deals well with change. I've no doubt that this alone could cause great stress to anyone who chose the profession with the noble intention of dedicating their career to educating children rather than having to keep detailed checks on their every action.

I find it very disappointing though to see that most of the negative and speculative comments regarding Kingsdale come from people who have no or little first had experience of the school but rather a significant few who seem to have no connection with the school at all. This can also be very disconcerting for parents whose children may be joining Kingsdale in year 7 so why not give a thought to them. I have attended the parents forum for 4 years and hope that the new parents will take the opportunity to come and see for themselves the extra mile everyone goes to ensure our children gets the best from their education. From that, you can then make your own informed opinions and judgements rather than from hearsay on this forum.

[Metallic]

I think you missed out the word 'significant' from that quote you made, villagepeople. ('small minority of staff'). You might want to wonder about the staff who left in the last year!

So what do you think about being told to keep the parents forum confidential? Why on earth would a headteacher say that and think that people might wonder what is so secret? Surely a wonderful happy school needs to spread the message far and wide and that little 'confidential' thing would make me very curious.

In all the open parents' meetings I have ever been to, including being a secretary of the parents/teachers group in one school for over two years, I have never heard the head tell us parents to keep quiet.

[Fuschia]

Metallic, are you one of the disaffected kingsdale teachers?

All but one of your posts on the forum are on this thread

It's very laudable concern if you are just a new forumite with an interest in local schools ...

[village people]

Metallic - The Head raised the issue of the pending Ofsted report and wanted to share with the parents what he thought it would include. As this was unconfirmed he felt it was only prudent to ask parents to keep it confidential to avoid unsubstantiated gossip and rumours.

[Metallic]

Thanks for telling me villagepeople. I want to know everything about a school I may apply to and parents are the best source of information apart from inspections. Hence my interest in this one and its comparison with the last one.

Fuschia, you make me laugh. I just discovered EDF and this is the issue I have so much concern about. Thanks for checking up on me though. By the way, I am a social worker.