Issue - meetings

Report ED13081

The Portfolio Holder introduced a report that provided an update of recent Ofsted and school improvement activity across the Borough.  Since the meeting of Education PDS Committee on 2^nd July 2013, there had been four Ofsted inspections.  Scotts Park Primary School, St Mary Cray Primary School and Burwood School had been judged as ‘Requires Improvement’, and a package of support would be in place from September 2013 to support improvement within these schools.  The Ofsted judgement of Unicorn Primary had not been published at the time of the report.

Ofsted monitoring visits had taken place at Blenheim Primary School, Bromley Road Infant School, Edgebury Primary School, Gray’s Farm Primary School, Hawes Down Junior School, Malcolm Primary School, Poverest Primary School, Royston Primary School, St George’s C.E. Primary School and St John’s C.E. Primary School.  It was noted that Gray’s Farm Primary School, Malcolm Primary School and Royston Primary School were making reasonable progress towards the removal of special measures, and that school leaders and governors had begun to take, or were taking, effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement at Blenheim Primary School, Bromley Road Infant School, Hawes Down Junior School and Poverest Primary School.  It had been also been notified that the action plan developed by St George’s C.E. Primary School had appropriate actions to tackle identified weaknesses and provide an effective stepping stone for long term planning.  The outcome of the Ofsted monitoring visit to Edgebury Primary School had not been published at the time of the report.

Members were advised that the Local Authority had been working with the Diocese to arrange a package of support for St John’s C.E. Primary School and that a new Executive Head Teacher and Head of School were now in place.  Another Member also noted that Biggin Hill Primary School now had a new Head Teacher and that Charles Darwin School had been approached to act as sponsor to the school.  It was confirmed that Malcolm Primary School and Royston Primary School were now academy schools and had been renamed, respectively, Harris Primary Academy Crystal Palace and Harris Primary Academy Kent House.  Local Authority Governors had not been retained on the Governing Bodies of these schools.

A Member was concerned that a number of ‘Outstanding’ schools had not received an Ofsted inspection for several years.  The Assistant Director: Education confirmed that the re-categorisation of schools, currently underway, would identify schools, including those rated as ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’, who might be at risk and that further information on the number of high priority schools would be reported to the next meeting of Education PDS Committee.

RESOLVED that recent Ofsted and school improvement activity across the Borough be noted.