Ofsted and the 'Satisfactory' word!

Ofsted reports; what does ‘satisfactory’ actually mean?
In everyday life, if we hear the term satisfactory we tend to assume it is anything but! Not good enough. Whilst it may be true that we would all wish our own school to be judged as good or even outstanding, it should be remembered that satisfactory in Ofsted – speak does actually mean that the strengths are greater than the areas of weakness, it does pass muster!
Actually, when you read the requirements for an Ofsted judgement of satisfactory in terms of a teachers lesson it really is actually rather good. So I think I would sound a note of caution if you receive a report littered with the ‘s’ word – it basically means it’s ok, reasonable, sound – yes, it could do better but there is nothing to be particularly concerned about.
More importantly expect the school and the Governors to draw up a post Ofsted action plan and, hopefully, this will be shared with parents so that everyone in the school community can be involved in making sure that the schools further improves.

administering medicines to your child

My child requires special medication – I am concerned that the school will not be able to cope with this. This is one I've heard on several occasions.
Schools are increasingly used to having to deal with a range of children’s medical needs – particularly as the drive towards inclusion for all grows and the number of specialist schools and units decreases. Moreover, the rise in asthmatic conditions means that it is commonplace for this sort of medication to be accessible to children throughout the school day. Schools differ in their approaches here – I favour children having access to inhalers and the like in their classroom, but many schools require them to go to the office. Certainly if you have concerns you should raise these. In any event, you should expect that the school with have a clear and concise policy in terms of medication and this will be available for you to see.