School no longer '˜inadequate'

A primary school has been taken out of special measures after a new Ofsted inspection.
New Road Primary School Whittlesey -  reception class and staff with Executive Headteacher Rob Litten following their latest Ofsted report EMN-180901-215324009New Road Primary School Whittlesey -  reception class and staff with Executive Headteacher Rob Litten following their latest Ofsted report EMN-180901-215324009
New Road Primary School Whittlesey - reception class and staff with Executive Headteacher Rob Litten following their latest Ofsted report EMN-180901-215324009

New Road primary in New Road, Whittlesey, has had its rating bumped up from ‘Inadequate’ to ‘Requires Improvement’ after the latest inspection found “significant changes had been made” since the school joined the Aspire Learning Trust in July 2016.

The Ofsted inspector praised the academy’s governance and said all groups of pupils make good progress in the early years.

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However, he added that the mixed school needs to improve the progress that pupils make, particularly in maths, and that it needs to ensure that the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is consistently good.

In a joint response to the report, Jonathan Digby, CEO of Aspire Learning Trust, and Rob Litten, the academy’s executive headteacher, said: “We recognise that the outcomes in terms of results, and the quality of teaching, need to be consistently good and these are our priorities for the rest of the year.

“We are delighted that the behaviour of the children was seen as a strength of the school and that the new governance arrangements are providing the rigour and challenge needed to keep driving the school forward.

“The recent curriculum changes and the emphasis on high quality writing are beginning to bear fruit, and the pupils with SEN have benefited from the work of the new SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator).

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“School attendance has improved since the last report, which is a testimony to the hard work of the staff and the commitment of the parents to their children’s education.”

The school was rated as Good for personal development, behaviour and welfare, as well as early years provision. However, it was rated as Requires Improvement for effectiveness of leadership and management, quality of teaching, learning and assessment, as well as outcomes for pupils.

Ofsted had previously rated the school as Inadequate following an inspection in September 2015, where it said all groups of pupils were underachieving.

Its latest report states that “pupils in Key Stage 2 are beginning to make stronger progress than in the past,” although the most able pupils were not said being challenged enough.

The behaviour of pupils and strength of the curriculum was also praised.

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