In a positive update from Ofsted, Carisbrooke College has shown itself to be moving in the right direction following its first Inspection report after being placed in Special Measures.
“Much has been achieved”
The letter from the inspector (below) highlights that Carisbrooke College’s Headteacher, Peter Shaw, and his senior team had set about the required improvements for the school “with gusto and determination”, commenting that “Much has been achieved in the past few weeks.”
We’ve picked out some other phrases below, but recommend you read the letter embedded at the bottom of this article
“The school has made clear progress on all of the main areas for improvement, although you rightly recognise that teaching must be your top priority.”
“There are very clear targets for students’ achievement at different points in the year and staff regularly assess whether students are on track to meet them. This information is analysed well and presented clearly. However, more needs to be done to check teachers’ assessments to ensure that they are made consistently and accurately.”
The letter also points out that, “The school’s original improvement plan has a number of weaknesses”, going on to praise the now-rewritten first section of the document.
Coordination of advisor
Those in charge at the school appear to understand the problems and are tackling them, illustrated by “one advisor has been appointed to manage coordination and provide a single point of contact”, to co-ordinate the support “coming from a range of sources, including from a private consultant and local authority staff from the Isle of Wight and Hampshire local authorities”, after it was acknowledged confusion might occur with so many different sources of advice.
Summary
Following the monitoring inspection the following judgements were made:
- The local authority statement of action is fit for purpose.
- The school’s improvement plan is not fit for purpose.
- The school may not appoint newly qualified teachers before the next monitoring inspection.
IW council inspection
Back at the start of June, Ofsted selected the Isle of Wight council to be one of only two local authorities in the UK that were themselves inspected to see why there have been so many problems with Isle of Wight schools. Ofsted cited ‘Serious concerns’. The publication of report is still awaited.
Statement from council
Update 17:49: Unprompted, we received this statement from Isle of Wight council.
The Isle of Wight Council member responsible for improving education on the Island has welcomed news that Carisbrooke College is making good progress in its efforts to move out of special measures.
Speaking after Ofsted released the findings of its first monitoring report on steps taken by Carisbrooke, Richard Priest, Isle of Wight Council cabinet member for children’s services, said: “I am pleased this initial monitoring inspection has acknowledged much has already been done to begin to bring about the required improvements at Carisbrooke College.
“Of course this improvement must be sustained and we will continue to work with the school to achieve this as soon as possible.
“From the council’s perspective, I am pleased that our statement of action has been found to be fit for action and that the support of staff from the council and colleagues from Hampshire County Council has also been judged to be valuable.
“The goal remains to see Carisbrooke College brought out of special measures and this report makes it clear that, while there is still much to be done, there has already been clear progress in all main areas.
Councillor Chris Whitehouse, who represents Newport West ward in which Carisbrooke College is located, said: “I the met the principal and chair of governors of the college a few days ago. They are absolutely focussed on the need to deliver improvements. I will be meeting the principal again on Monday 8 July to discuss just how we can support the college in getting out of special measures as a matter of grave urgency. Clearly much work has been done, the first steps taken, but there remains a way to go. The senior leadership team will have my full and active support every step of the way.”
The letter in full
Image: Carisbrooke college
