School's disappointment over Ofsted rating

Slindon Primary, in Meadsway, was visited by inspector Liz Bowes, who dropped the school’s rating from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’.

Ms Bowes’ report was published just weeks after Slindon was rated ‘good’ by the Diocese of Chichester following its Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS).

Staff and governors said they were “disappointed” with the Ofsted rating, and also took issue with the way the inspection was conducted.

In a letter to parents, chairman of governors Tony Elkin said: “The governing body and staff are disappointed with the report, and, to some extent, the nature of the inspection, which we feel placed much reliance upon the results of formal testing and attainment data for the academic year 2015-2016, combined with the work of current pupils since September 2016, but not before.

“Unlike the previous inspections of the school, the information the school purposely holds for Ofsted, explaining the story for individual pupils, was not examined, and the overall progress made by pupils from their starting points when joining the school was not reviewed.”

Ms Bowes acknowledged the work carried out by headteacher Jane Walters to improve pupils’ progress but said not enough children were working at the levels expected of them.

In her report, she said: “Leaders and governors have not had a positive enough impact on the quality of teaching. They have not ensured that the school has improved since the last inspection.”

The report stated Ms Walters had recognised improvements were needed, appointed new teachers and implemented new initiatives – some of which had already had an impact.

Progress made by children in reading during Years 1 and 2, for example, had “rapidly improved”.

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