What can an OFSTED report tell me?

What can an OFSTED report tell me?

Ralph Lucas (Editor, The Good Schools Guide) gives expert video advice on: Where can I get a copy of a school's exam results?; Where can I get a copy of the school's OFSTED report?; What are league tables? and more...

OFSTED reports give you a view on how a fellow professional sees that school operating. They are looking at the quality of the management of the school, the way in which it is looking after its pupils, the quality of the teaching and the level of expectations that it has for its pupils. Whether it is really doing what it should do to see those pupils through to a good future. It's very much not a parent's view. There will be many things that parents want to know that just don't seem to come on the OFSTED radar, but it tells you things that are fundamental to the operation of the school, and if you've got a school getting a bad OFSTED report, that is something to be careful of. If you've got a school getting a good OFSTED report, then that's at least halfway to knowing that you like it. It's telling you the school, within its own rights, is functioning well. It doesn't tell you whether it's the right school for your child, but says if it is the right school for your child, then it's a good school.