Primary school placed in '˜special measures'

Inspectors say King Offa primary school, Down Road, needs major improvements in many areas in order to bring it up to required standards.

The report states: “Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement.

“Pupils’ achievement is inadequate. This is the result of inadequate teaching and learning. Attainment is significantly lower than it should be by the end of Year 6, especially given the good progress children make in the Early Years Foundation Stage, from below average starting points. This is because leaders have not been able to stem the decline in standards since the previous inspection.”

The reporting Ofsted inspector judged the school needed to improve attainment in English, maths and science, improve the attendance of some pupils, and continue improving the quality of leadership, teaching and assessment standards.

Chair of the school’s governors, Alison Watt, said the governing body is determined to improve standards.

“We are committed to improving King Offa and we all recognise we have a lot of work to do. However we have a clear vision for the future education of all our children and will leave no stone unturned as we work hard to bring about the necessary improvements as quickly as possible.”

While inspectors identified areas for improvement, governors say they are pleased that Ofsted acknowledged the governors, with continuing support from East Sussex County Council (ESCC), were aware of the weaknesses and were tackling them.

Ms Watt said: “We will of course regularly inform parents and carers of the developments for the improvements of their children’s school. We would like to take this opportunity to say how much we value their involvement and to thank them for their continued support.”

There were some positive results, with Ofsted inspectors highlighting King Offa’s strengths. There was praise for pupil behaviour, relationships between staff and pupils, the contribution that pupils make in their school and in their local community, and the good relationship between the school, parents and carers.

The governors and staff continue to work with the County Councils Standards and Learning Effectiveness Service to ensure a better future for the pupils and say an improvement plan to address the weaknesses raised by Ofsted was already in place.

A spokesman for ESCC said: “We are working with the governing body and staff to address this situation as a matter of urgency. We are, of course, extremely disappointed with the result of the Ofsted inspection but we were already aware of the issues it has highlighted and had already begun to address them.

“Our school improvement advisers are working extremely closely with the school on an improvement plan which is already being implemented. We have also assisted the school with the appointment of an acting headteacher, Shirley Frankis.

The release of the Ofsted report came a few weeks after the resignation of King Offa’s headteacher, Jenni Miller. ESCC says this is a coincidence, and that Ms Miller “left her post for personal reasons” and it was “entirely her own decision”.

Tony Campbell, chair of Bexhill Consortium, said it was “with great sadness” that Bexhill Consortium members learned of Jenni’s decision to “give up her headship for personal reasons”.

He added: “Jenni was a highly effective headteacher, successfully raising the performance of King Offa Primary School. As a member of the Consortium Jenni was tireless in supporting  her colleagues, in her endeavours to raise standards and in assisting all students in Bexhill needing support.

“She will be greatly missed and we wish her well. The Consortium has assured the chair of governors of its continued support during this transition period.”