Following an inspection last month by Ofsted, St Peter’s Junior School in Marlborough has been given a one from bottom rating and described as a school “That requires improvement”.
However, the report reveals some alarming statistics about the school’s intake.
The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by the ‘pupil premium’ is 31 per cent against a national average of 26.6 per cent – that used to be known as the number qualifying for free school meals. And Ofsted says this proportion “is rising” at St Peter’s.
In addition, the proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is 31 per cent – nearly four times the national average figure of 8.4 per cent. Despite recording these unusually high figures, the Ofsted report makes no reference at all to St Peter’s buildings and facilities.
Here is what Marlborough News Online wrote in September 2013:
It is thought strange that the government did not consider this school more of a priority [in its school building programme.] And it appears there was no political push to make it a priority.
St Peter’s (formerly the town’s grammar school) was built in 1904 and is Grade II listed. It has been judged as “completely inaccessible for physically impaired pupils”. Over half the classrooms and the school hall are upstairs.
Recently a chair-bound pupil who should have gone to St Peter’s had to be sent to another and less appropriate school.
Wiltshire Council investigated the installation of a lift. The cost was estimated to be about £150,000 and it was then found that the scheme was “unlikely” to get listed building planning consent.
Recently its wiring was judged to need complete replacement. In the hope that the new school would be ready sooner than now planned, short-term work had to be done to make the wiring safe. St Peter’s has no playing field or grassed area.
Government money was in place in 2010 to build Marlborough’s new primary school combining St Mary’s and St Peter’s, but the coalition government scrapped the scheme. It is now expected that the new school building will be ready by September 2016.
The report published this week after the Ofsted inspection in January, praises St Peter’s leadership and management, which it says has improved since the last full inspection in January 2013: “Consequently, this is an improving school with the capacity to improve further.”
The inspectors also praise pupils’ behaviour and say that attendance is “well above average because pupils love coming to school.”
Ofsted’s main finding is that “Although pupils attain broadly average standards by the time they leave Year 6, they do not achieve as well as they should during their time at school.” The reason for this is laid at the door of the teaching: “Over time, teaching has not been effective enough to ensure that pupils make good progress.”
Ofsted judge that both the ‘quality of teaching’ and the ‘achievement of pupils’ require improvement. But it also states that “Teaching is improving, partly because teachers have more opportunities to benefit from coaching and learning from each other.”
The report stresses that the lack of ‘progress over time’ is particularly acute in writing. But then widens its criticism: “No groups of pupils made as much progress as they should have done in 2013 and 2014. Expectations were not high enough and support for individual pupils who were underachieving was not provided early enough or not precisely targeted at their needs.”
A former parent and someone who is closely connected with St Peter’s told Marlborough News Online: “I believe it is a very helpful report. It recognises improvements have been made, whilst at the same time pointing out where things need to get even better. I am particularly delighted the report makes it clear that pupils love coming to the school.” This person also thought that the building was peripheral to the teaching at the school.
Under new government rules, Ofsted has four ratings: 1 is ‘outstanding’. 2 is ‘good’. 3 means ‘requiring improvement’. And 4 is ‘inadequate’ – for schools with ‘serious weaknesses’. The fifth category of ‘satisfactory’ has been abolished. St Peter’s is rated at 3. St Peter’s is a Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School – which means it still comes under the authority of Wiltshire Council.
