If you really want the facts, then the OFSTED reports will hepl you in your quest to find the right school or daycare for your child. There are a number of ways to work out which of these would be the most appropriate for you and your child: you can ask other parents and their children how they rate their particular school; arrange to visit schools in your area; or go online and check the latest Ofsted report to see how they faired in their most recent inspection.
Once you're on the Ofsted site you'll need to make sure you have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed in order to download and read the report on the school you've chosen. Once this free piece of software is installed then either enter the name of the school whose report you'd like to view in the search box or put in a postcode to see which schools are in your chosen locality.
The best way to get a snapshot of the school is to look at the summary of the inspection team's findings. This is likely to feature the school's characteristics and also its strengths and weaknesses as well as areas for improvement.
If you have a particular interest in finding out for example what other parents and carers think of the school, there will be a summary of a questionnaire sent home prior to the inspection. If the school's record of achievement in public examinations is important to you then you can see how the school compares nationally to all schools and also to schools with similar characteristics.
The role of UCAS
