Mixed bag for primary school in Wing after Ofsted inspection rates areas as 'good' and 'requires improvement'
Overstone Combined School has been rated good by Oftsed inspectors in three categories but told it requires improvement in quality of education and leadership and management.
It was rated good in Behaviour and Attitudes, Personal Development and Early Years provision following an inspection on July 8 and July 9.
The school was given a previous inspection grade of requires improvement, but Ofsted no longer makes an overall effectiveness judgement in inspections of state-funded schools.
Safeguarding arrangements were also found to be effective at the school in Church Street, Wing.
The report stated: “The school is ambitious for pupils, but this ambition is not being achieved consistently across the curriculum. The specific knowledge pupils need to focus on is sometimes unclear in lessons. Sometimes, teaching choices do not allow pupils to explore new learning in sufficient depth. When this happens, pupils do not build on their knowledge and skills as well as they need to.
"Staff generally have secure subject knowledge but sometimes they lack the expertise to implement the curriculum in a way that meets pupils’ needs.
“Teachers make regular checks on pupils’ understanding. Sometimes, these checks do not provide a consistently clear oversight of what pupils know and can do. As a result, gaps in pupils’ knowledge are sometimes not addressed as swiftly as they could be. Similarly, the tasks that are set are too simplistic for some pupils because they do not match their understanding sufficiently well.”
The needs of pupils with SEND are identified swiftly and accurately.
What does the school need to do to improve?
>The report stated that sometimes, teaching choices do not focus on the most important knowledge pupils need to learn. This means that pupils do not build their knowledge and understanding over time. The school should ensure that staff have the expertise to deliver the intended curriculum effectively, so that pupils learn securely and achieve more successfully.
> The school does not have a sufficiently clear oversight of how effectively the curriculum meets the needs of disadvantaged pupils, including those with SEND. Sometimes, provision is not as well matched to pupils’ needs as it should be. As a result, disadvantaged pupils do not achieve as highly as they could.
> And the school’s attendance strategy is not helping some pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged, attend school as regularly as they should.
The school was approached for a comment but did not respond by our deadline.