Leamore Primary School still needs to do more, Ofsted says
A school still needs to improve despite dragging itself out of special measures, the education watchdog has said.
Leamore Primary School in Bloxwich Road, Walsall, has maintained it’s ‘requires improvement’ status despite looking hopeful that it would improve after being taken out of special measures in 2016.
Ofsted carried out a monitoring inspection at the school with 241 pupils in June 2016 and decided they were taking ‘effective action’ towards improving but they have maintained their status because of ‘staffing instability’.
Osted inspector Nadeem Bhatti wrote in the report: ‘Since the last inspection, senior leaders have not secured consistently good teaching throughout the school. As a result, outcomes over time have not been good.’
‘In 2017, at the end of key stage 2, pupils did not make as much progress as other pupils nationally, particularly the most able pupils, boys and disadvantaged pupils’
‘Attendance is below the national average, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities.’
But the report continued to say they have identified where to improve but have struggled to do so in the last couple of years because of a change in staff.
It said: ‘Leaders and governors have correctly identified priorities for improvement and are committed to raising standards across the school.’
‘The headteacher leads with clear determination to address the remaining inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and learning. She has made effective decisions about all aspects of the school, including staffing. She has introduced new systems for checking pupils’ progress and stringently holds teachers to account.’
‘Leaders have not yet had time to secure, sustain and embed the necessary changes to ensure consistently good-quality teaching and learning across the school. Their work to improve teaching and learning has been hindered by numerous staff changes since the last inspection. Leaders and governors are working hard to stabilise staffing so that their actions, including the provision of training and support, bring about swifter improvements.’
It was put in special measures in 2013 because inspectors then said teaching was not up to scratch, learning was slow and teachers did not check pupils’ progress closely enough.
Michelle Hill, the headteacher at Leamore Primary School, said: "'We welcome the positive comments made within the report. We are clear about the next steps on our school improvement journey."
Councillor Aftab Nawaz Cabinet Member for Children’s Services at Walsall Council stated: “The Council is working in partnership with Leamore Primary to address the issues highlighted in the Ofsted report and in raising standards across the school. We are determined to ensure that every child in Walsall gets the best education possible and we will work with the School Leadership and Governors to make this happen.”
