Ofsted say there are still concerns about the number of schools on the Isle of Wight which require improvement to become a ‘good’ school, with figures revealing that 36% of Island pupils attend schools which are not.
The annual Ofsted report published today (Tuesday) says that the Island’s GCSE results are not picking up quickly enough, with this year’s provisional results being the lowest in the region. Education outcomes on the Isle of Wight are showing signs of improvement in the early years and at Year 6, but attainment is not as high as it should be by Year 6.
Fewer schools are now in a category of concern than was the case at the last annual report in 2014, however the Island’s pupils do not have enough opportunity to attend a good or outstanding school and there are concerns about the numbers which still require improvement to be good.
Just 22% of secondary school pupils and 64% overall are in a good or outstanding school on the Island, a drop of -6% from 70% just a year ago. The Island now sits at the bottom of the South East’s secondary school league table.
It is said that attendance on the Island has improved in almost all primary, secondary and academy schools, moving the Island out of being one of the worst in the country. Persistent absence in secondary schools and academies is reducing but remains too high.
Ofsted say a key priority now is reducing secondary school fixed-term exclusions. with these currently remaining extremely high, putting the Island well within the worst 10% of authorities nationally.
Speaking about today’s report, Cllr Chris Whitehouse (Conservative, Newport West Ward) says:
“Generalisations about the Island schools and comments about Island averages are not that helpful. We have several high schools moving forward. Leading from the front in terms of overall attainment is Christ the King College, the Island’s only good high school. Carisbrooke College has delivered a huge improvement in GCSE results this year after a truly Herculean effort by its Principal, Pete Shaw. But we cannot hide the fact that Medina, Ryde and Cowes all slipped backwards to a deeply worrying degree. The Leadership Teams at those schools simply have to up their games, and quickly.”
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Sir Robin Bosher, Ofsted Regional Director for the South East, speaks about today’s report:
