Kettering school striving to improve after Ofsted inspection

The education watchdog visited St Edward’s Primary School in Eastleigh Road last month and published its findings yesterday (Monday).

In the school’s first inspection since becoming an academy, Ofsted graded it as ‘requires improvement’.

Headteacher Pauline Cuddihy said: “There is so much to be proud of.

“However, we must also take account of the specific areas where the report notes a requirement to improve, in particular the comments regarding the inconsistencies in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.

“The Ofsted team felt there was much good teaching in the school which gives us the capacity to improve.

“Consequently, we acknowledge that the next stage of our journey requires us to consolidate our good teaching and further develop our relatively new teaching team.”

Inspectors praised the school, which provides education for 210 children, for the development and welfare of its pupils, grading it as ‘good’ for that area.

A report by lead inspector Christine Watkins said: “The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.

“Pupils are proud of their school, saying that they enjoy their lessons and get plenty of help if they need it.

“They describe the school as being ‘like a family’ where everyone is ‘there for each other’.

“It is clear to see that staff and pupils have positive relationships.”

But the report noted a number of areas for improvement, including leadership and the consistency of teaching.

The school’s trust acknowledged that standards had declined since it took governance, and said that it had put an enhanced degree of support in place to improve.

Inspectors found the inconsistent quality of teaching across the school meant that pupils do not learn as well or progress as quickly as they should.

The report added: “Observations of learning during the inspection showed that pupils’ progress in lessons typically slows when the work is not well matched to their abilities.

“On other occasions, pupils’ attention wanders when the teachers’ instructions are not clear and precise.”