An Isle of Wight primary school has slipped from ‘Good’ to ‘Requires improvement’ in its latest Ofsted inspection.
Inspectors visited in September and found the quality of education and the leadership and management of Hunnyhill Primary School, in Newport, required improvement.
Hunnyhill headteacher, Lisa Steedman, however, has said inspectors found many positive strengths in the school and rated the behaviour and attitude, personal development and early years provision as good.
1 issue inspectors found was that although leaders were keen for pupils to be inspired to achieve, their ambitions for pupils to learn well was not consistently realised across all lessons. It meant pupils were not always supported to learn as well as they could, including when learning to read as quickly as they could.
At the time of the inspection, a new phonics scheme had recently been introduced but not all staff had been trained to use it yet so the teaching of early reading needed further development. Consequently, inspectors said the teaching of phonics was inconsistent and the support for weaker readers was not always strong enough.
Responding to the inspector’s comments, Ms Steedman said the phonics scheme was now embedded.
The education watchdog noted in its report pupils’ positive attitude reflected the school’s motto of ‘proud to belong’ and they were keen to be part of the inclusive school. They also said pupils have trusted adults in the school they can talk to and this helps them to feel safe.
Pupils enjoy opportunities, they said, to learn beyond the classroom and took different leadership roles, such as anti-bullying ambassadors, seriously.
Inspectors also said pupils were not consistently supported to address gaps in their learning because while teachers check what pupils do know at the start of new units that information is not used to plan future teaching.
Teachers should, Ofsted said, give pupils the opportunity to revisit key skills and knowledge.
Safeguarding at the school was deemed to be effective but leaders and governors had not ensured procedures were consistently followed nor that pupils got the timely support needed to keep them safe. Record-keeping was not always complete. The weaknesses were recognised during the inspection and the school began to rectify the issues.
Ms Steedman said safeguarding continued to be an absolute priority at the primary school.
Pupils with special education needs and disabilities were identified promptly and staff provided effective support, as well as to those pupils who have challenging behaviour and helped them develop positive attitudes towards learning.
Ms Steedman said:
“I am very proud to be headteacher here and would like to thank all the staff and our community for their ongoing hard work and support to ensure Hunnyhill pupils are safe and achieve their very best.”
the cause of the issue here is obvious from these two statements..
1 issue inspectors found was that although leaders were keen for pupils to be inspired to achieve, their ambitions for pupils to learn well was not consistently realised across all lessons
and
Pupils with special education needs and disabilities were identified promptly and staff provided effective support, as well as to those pupils who have challenging behaviour and helped them develop positive attitudes towards learning.
…
this tells you that the school is diverting too much time and attention to SEND kids, as well as the feral lot, at the expense of the majority of regular kids. It is these regular kids that suffer, because of the “inclusive” ideology.
So Ofsted part of Government Inspection, yet council withdraw more and more funding from education yet expect an improved service, someone needs education. I guess this school didn’t get enough notice of Ofsted and didn’t have spare money for overtime of staff to doctor records like many others. If Ofsted just turned up instead of giving warnings and more than 24hrs notice most establishments would rate low. Should be help not cutbacks and then criticize.
And teachers want a pay rise
“Teachers should, Ofsted said, give pupils the opportunity to revisit key skills and knowledge.”
This is the brunt of all education problems imo. Racing ahead to complete a full syllabus when kids may not fully have understood building blocks they need to. Better to learn slower and get it right and drilled into them, especially maths. Otherwise they’re all at sea at secondary school, and remain so.
Chillerton and Rookley primary school has a good ofsted rating. Why are they trying to close it?
They aren’t “trying to close it”.
The issue is the only teacher is leaving and they can’t find a replacement.
Teaching is suffering the same problems as many other skilled public sector vocations. 12 years of being undervalued and overworked while the Tory gutter press demonises them to cover their masters’ gross mismanagement.
Sorry but they really are. It has been going on for quite a few years, starting when there was plenty of teachers (and pupils) there. It’s true what you say about teachers being undervalued. I think it’s a shame that a good rated school is turning pupils away and is likely to close. A good ofsted rating here on the island seems increasingly rare.
no..I spoke with a former teacher who quit the profession last year, after 16 years..they said…
it has become a soulless experience where the focus is on ideology, politics, gender and pandering to the whims of parents that clearly didn’t pay any attention, when they were at school themselves. Instead of providing an education, we were constantly pestered to fill in forms to provide pointless data, which bore no relation to education provision. The education system is more about ticking boxes and appearing PC, at the expense of a child’s education.
seeing kids that have real talents ignored to ensure that the SEND kids and unruly disruptive kids were pandered to, was the final straw. The pay was never my motivation for teaching
Sums up many of the island children, so many of them seem to be vapjng at such a young age.
This report puts an emphasis on the incompetence of the headteacher. There has been a considerable deterioration in educational quality since her takeover.
This school’s students are extremely bright. They are, however, severely hampered by an outdated educational system that just does not have the capacity to harness any potential.