Sad to hear of another Isle of Wight school being placed in Special Measures. This in from the council, in their own words. Ed
The leadership of Barton Primary at Newport has pledged to act ‘quickly and decisively’ to improve the school after it was placed in special measures by Ofsted.
Action plan already in progress
Head teacher Mark Snow, who took up post in April this year, said work had already begun on an action plan to bring about improvement and a recruitment campaign was about to be launched to bring more high quality teachers to the school.
Mr Snow said:
“The Ofsted judgement was clearly a disappointment to all those involved with the school. But what we must do now is to act swiftly and decisively to bring about the improvement that is required.
“We have seen on the Island that schools can be turned around quickly if everyone works together: this is what we must do at Barton.”
Co-chairs of Governors Rachel Brown and Ashley Bishop said:
“We will be working with the local authority to ensure an effective action plan is drawn up and implemented. We know the community is passionate about the school, as are its staff and Governors. I am sure that by all working together we can bring about the improvements required not just to bring Barton out of special measures but to make it an outstanding school that gives its pupils the best possible start in life.
“We will be calling a meeting of all parents to explain the Ofsted findings and, more importantly, to outline what we will be doing to turn the school around. The continuing support of parents – who we know care passionately about the school – will be a crucial part of this journey.”
The co-chairs said they were pleased Ofsted noted that Barton’s nursery gave children a good start on which it was now the duty of the school to build.
Richard Priest, Isle of Wight Council cabinet member for children’s services, said the local authority, highlighted by Ofsted as not challenging the school effectively enough, would work closely with Barton to help the school improve.
He said,
“We have seen with the recent success of Gatten and Lake Primary School that went from special measures to good in 17 months that improvement can be rapid if everyone works together.
“As a local authority we now have the additional expertise and resources of Hampshire County Council whose positive contribution has already been noted in other aspects of school improvement. We must provide all the support and challenge required to help the school out of special measures as soon as possible.”
