A Colne primary school has gone from “satisfactory” to “requiring improvement” in its latest Ofsted report.
Inspectors ruled that Park Primary School, in Rutland Street, needs to raise standards in its achievement of pupils, quality of teaching, behaviour and safety of pupils and leadership and management.
Lead inspector Marian Thomas and additional inspectors Stefan Lord and David Blackburne visited the school in January, observing 21 lessons and taking into account the views of parents.
In their summary of key findings it states that pupils’ achievement requires improvements because standards in Key Stage 2 were too low last year, and that progress in writing is less good than it is in mathematics and reading in Key Stage 2.
It also says:
l In some lessons, learning proceeds too slowly when teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve in the time available
l The outdoor area in which Reception-age children learn and play does not offer sufficient opportunity for children to develop their physical skills, such as climbing or riding on wheeled toys
l Leadership and management require improvement because senior leaders are not yet sufficiently effective at using the data collected on pupils’ progress to monitor progress and evaluate the effect of systems put in place to improve achievement
l Governors have not yet undertaken training to enable them to have a good understanding of school achievement data
However, the report also takes into account “the great turbulence” that the leadership team has experienced over the last 18 months, including the fact there have been four different headteachers since the previous inspection.
It adds that the current acting headteacher Sarah Midgley and her acting deputy are bringing about effective change, including improvement to the quality of teaching and the achievement of pupils.
It also states that children make good progress from low starting points in the Reception Class, pupils make good progress in Key Stage 1 and pupils with additional needs who attend the “Rainbow Room” make good progress.