An Isle of Wight primary school is ‘disappointed’ at the outcome of its recent Ofsted inspection — which saw its rating drop from ‘Good’ to ‘Requires improvement’.
Lanesend Primary School, in Cowes, was told its quality of education, leadership and management and early years provision all required improvement by the education watchdog.
‘Too many’ pupils did not learn to read quickly
Inspectors found expectations of what pupils could achieve were not always as high as they should be and ‘too many’ pupils did not learn to read quickly.
The issus also affected those with special needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
There was no validated phonics scheme in place to help all pupils make rapid progress.
New government-validated phonics scheme
Caroline Sice, Lanesend headteacher, said a new government-validated phonics scheme had been implemented and the school was working alongside a support hub in Southampton.
Inspectors also found the curriculum in most subjects was not coherently planned and, as a result, pupils did not consistently make good progress in learning and remembering it.
They said pupils remembered random facts, rather than important knowledge in subjects such as science.
Inexperienced trustees
Another issue, inspectors noted was with trustees of the school being inexperienced and they had not held the headteacher nor senior leaders to account over low expectations, a decline in performance and the failure to meet statutory duties.
Trustees relied on the opinion of senior leaders and as a result had been led to believe the school was performing better than it was.
Issues to be addressed
Mrs Sice said to address the issues, a national leader of governance would be visiting trustees next week.
Some parents with SEND children had found it difficult to communicate with leaders about their children’s education.
Good behaviour
However, the behaviour and attitudes of pupils and their personal development were rated as good.
Pupils enjoyed coming to school, which was demonstrated by high rates of attendance, and school days were full of memories of wonderful events, activities and trips.
Sice: 96 per cent of school families recommend the school
Mrs Sice said so many of the good things inspectors shared with the school had not been written in the report, including 96 per cent of school families recommending the school, or the ‘stunning’ learning environment.
She said,
“As a school, our aim is, and always will be, to generate a lifelong love of learning and help every child grow into the very best adult.
“We have been so touched by the support of our families and children who have shared with us that they did not choose the school because of its Ofsted rating but because of the wonderful feeling of the school and how much their children love coming to Lanesend Primary School.”
See the report in full by visiting the Ofsted Website.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: laura rivera under CC BY 2.0
