Sunderland primary must do better - say Ofsted

Following a recent visit to Ryhope Junior School, Ofsted inspectors said there has been a decline in education.

They said leadership, personal development, outcomes for pupils and quality of teaching all need to improve.

In their report the inspectors said: “School leaders have presided over a decline in the standard of education on offer. In 2017, the progress that pupils made in reading by the end of Year 6 was not good enough and the standards that they reached in this subject were too low.

“There is a lack of precision in school development planning and a lack of rigour in the way that provision is monitored. As a result, any actions designed to improve the quality of education are not based on firm foundations.”

The watchdogs went on to say that assessment of pupils’ work and progress are not always accurate and the quality of teaching is too inconsistent.

The report said: “Some pupils are too easily distracted in class.

“Several parents and carers are concerned about the behaviour of some pupils at school. Inspectors agree that the behaviour of a few pupils has not been effectively managed.

“The governing body has, in the past, been too slow to challenge weaker aspects of school leadership.”

However, the inspectors said there is a long way to go before the vision of the school to develop a love of learning inspired by quality teaching becomes a reality.

Jan Skelton, headteacher at the Shaftsbury Avenue school, said: “As the Ofsted report acknowledged, the school is fully aware of its areas for development and is already achieving success in addressing these.

“Evidence of this can be seen in our very pleasing SATs results for 2018, which are once again above the national average across the board.

“School leaders and governors will continue to work together to build on this success.”

In their report the inspectors said the strengths of Ryhope Junior School included the teaching of writing and the new deputy headteacher is moving at a pace to improve provision for pupils with special needs.

They said many pupils are polite, friendly and respectful of others, are committed to their learning and want to do their best.

And, they say middle leaders are ready for the challenges ahead.

To move forward the school needs to improve the quality of teaching, raise the quality of leadership and management and improve pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare eases.

There also needs to be an external review of governance and an external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium.