School determined to bounce back after 'disappointing' Ofsted report

A headteacher said he and his team were confident they would 'rapidly bounce back' after their school was told to improve by Ofsted.
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Ofsted

Lyminster Primary School, in Wick Street, Littlehampton, underwent a two-day inspection in May and the findings were published on June 12.

While inspector Marcia Goodwin’s report acknowledged the “positive changes” introduced by Steven McGinley and his leadership team, she said they had “not had time to make sufficient impact”.

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Ms Goodwin added: “Good leadership and governance are improving the school.

“The new headteacher and senior leaders have had an immediate and positive impact since their appointment. They have focused on the right things.

“The school is well placed to improve rapidly.”

While Mr McGinley’s efforts may not yet have had a sufficient enough impact to secure a ‘good’ rating for his school, Ofsted’s report showed he had impressed his staff.

One member of staff told the inspectors: “‘I enjoy working at this school and have experienced such positive change since the recent senior leadership team appointments.”

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A legacy of weak teaching led to last year’s Year 6 pupils under-achieving in their SATs. Ms Goodwin’s report acknowledged there was now some strong teaching at the school but called for further improvement as the quality was “not yet consistently good”.

Mr McGinley, who was appointed in September 2016, said the report gave the school a “clear focus for our continued development”.

He was pleased Ms Goodwin had recognised Lyminster’s strengths, including the conduct of the children – who were described as “friendly and courteous” – and the pride they showed in their school.

He thanked staff, students and parents for their support and added: “Naturally the whole school community was disappointed with the overall judgment of requiring improvement but we were already working on the areas identified by Ofsted and have a clear plan for how each target for development will be met.

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“As we are already ‘good’ in several categories, and on such a strong trajectory of improvement, we are confident we can rapidly bounce back to good and want to aim even higher.”

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