OCKENDON Academy has been branded “Inadequate” after a recent inspection by government education watchdog, Ofsted.
Inspectors came to the Eriff Drive school on October 9th and 10th and have described a school that seems to have fallen a long long way from its heyday.
With the report now published, a vast number of questions will be asked.
Questions may well be asked of the previous chief executive, Barbara King rather than the new principal, Jo Rainey.
Amongst the headline criticisms are:
1. Until recently, leaders failed to grasp the reality of the school’s weaknesses.
2. Too little of the teaching enables pupils to make enough progress. Effective teaching is focused on Years 10 to 11, and in creative subjects and physical education but not in a sufficiently wide range of other subjects.
3. English, mathematics and science are not taught well in Years 7 to 9. This leads to pupils being poorly prepared for GCSEs in these subjects.
4. Disadvantaged pupils have been poorly served by ineffective spending of the pupil premium.
5. The pupils’ outcomes are low. There has been some success in using the funding to retain pupils in school, but the money has not been used effectively to raise attainment.
6. Outcomes are too low by the end of Year 11. For the last two years, pupils’ progress between the end of key stage 2 and the end of key stage 4 has been in the bottom fifth of pupils nationally.
The full report can be read here:
10054125 The Ockendon Academy Final
YT will be contacting a number of organisations to gauge their reaction.
It comes as no surprise education is below par when establishments let basket cases become governors. Schools and colleges need a good team to guide them forward not stock room boys who are mental.
In this instance the governing body surely would have been aware of the issues facing the school.If not, why not? This highlights an ongoing problem with a number of our schools in recent years.
God, how useless is a school that can’t make a good impression when they are given enough time to prepare for an inspection? Probably one that educates people like thurrocksgonedownhill (or, to give him his real nom de plume, troglodyteguzzlesdownhumanswill)!
Nice dig at me but Thurrock Adult Community College consistently improved while I was governor there. Shame you’ve gone back to cowering behind not using my name to attack me but that’s what cowards do. And, yes, I know it’s me you’re attacking because of the previous comments on other news items.
Despite your pathetic attempts at attacking me, your second paragraph does have a point in the question you asked. Did a grown up help you with that paragraph?
Veni, vidi, iterum calce asinus tuus.