LITTLE THURROCK primary school has been slammed by Ofsted for not having high enough expectations of its students.
The damning Ofsted report is just one of a host of reports, published recently, that has seen Thurrock primary schools placed in the two lowest categories.
Earlier this year, Thurrock primary schools were placed third from bottom in the country for the percentage with good or outstanding Ofsted inspections.
Last month, Corringham primary and Benyon primary were placed in special measures whilst Purfleet primary, St Joseph’s primary and Harris primary Academy all were told that they required improvement.
The report may come as a shock for many as the school is situated in a well-heeled part of Grays on Rectory Road. However, this is the third “requires improvement” report for the head teacher, Ms Liz Jackson.
The Ofsted report made the following criticisms.
1. Teaching is not yet consistently good for enough pupils to make good progress across the school.
2. In some Key Stage 1 classes, teachers do not have high enough expectations of pupils and do not build on pupils’ prior learning to challenge them sufficiently well.
3. Pupils with special educational needs and those eligible for pupil-premium funding do not always make as much progress as they should.
4. The pace of learning is not always suited to pupils’ needs so that sometimes learning slows, especially for more-able pupils.
5. The monitoring of teaching by leaders is not consistently rigorous and sometimes does not lead to suitable training for staff.
6. Targets in the school’s action plans are not always as specific as they need to be, to improve leadership and management in particular.
7. The governing body is not as well informed as it should be with regards to teachers’ performance and the impact of pupil premium funding on their progress.
8. Some parents and carers reported that they would like to be better informed about their child’s progress and that communication from the school needs to be more timely.
However, it also made the following positive comments.
1. The school has improved teaching in Key Stage 2 so that this is stronger than at the time of the last inspection, especially for the current Year 4 and Year 6.
2. Pupils enjoy learning in school and have good opportunities to take part in a wide range of sports and music activities.
3. Pupils’ interest in reading is well promoted through a range of texts which enhance pupils’ writing and cultural development. As a result, pupils’ progress in reading is good throughout the school.
4. Pupils are welcoming and friendly. Pupils behave in lessons so that learning proceeds without interruption.
