Primary fails to make grade with inspectors

Photo: Darren Robinson

Watersheddings Primary School

WATERSHEDDINGS Primary School has been told by inspectors that it is failing to give pupils an acceptable standard of education.

It has been classed at the bottom grade of inadequate by Ofsted and placed in special measures - but says that it is already taking action to improve things.

The education watchdog found that standards have declined since the school was previously inspected in March 2014.

Results in national tests in 2015 were significantly below the national average, although there are signs that pupils' progress in writing and maths is now improving.

Leaders and governors have acted "too slowly" to improve teaching and learning and do not check pupils' progress well enough, say the inspectors in their report.

Teachers' expectations of what pupils, including the brightest children, can do and achieve are too low, and they add: "Leaders do not have a planned, rigorous or robust system to check the quality of teaching or the impact of initiatives to improve teaching.

"Teaching is not improving quickly enough and pupils are not making fast enough progress."

The Broadbent Road school has 279 pupils aged between three and 11.

Welfare

Children join the nursery with skills which are well below those typical for their age and weak early years provision hinders the rapid progress they need to make to catch up with their peers nationally, said the report.

The school's curriculum is also criticised as weak but Ofsted praises the good promotion of pupil's personal development and welfare.

Inspectors say the primary's pupils are proud to attend the school, care for each other, behave well, and have mature attitudes and impeccable manners.

Overall the school's leadership and management and its early years provision are judged to be inadequate.

Teaching and outcomes for pupils both require improvement while pupils' personal development, behaviour and welfare is judged to be good.

Head teacher John Crabtree said the school was already taking action to improve standards.

He said: "The Ofsted judgment is, clearly, very disappointing but, together with the governing body, school is already working to address the issues.

"All staff are committed to making the rapid improvements required for the benefit of the children and the school."