Story: Lisa Swift
Local parents have demanded answers from the Local Education Authority(LEA) after Whiteways Primary School was given a notice to improve in January by OFSTED inspectors.
Parents were angry that the school has not seen an improvement since the last inspection in 2007, when the school was graded as ‘satisfactory’. Parents called a meeting with the LEA and the schools headteacher and leadership in February to demand to know what had gone wrong and what was being done to improve the school.
One parent said, “We feel we were abandoned, when the school was ‘satisfactory’ it should have been supported then, instead its been allowed to slip backwards.”
The report identified problems in attainment in English and Maths, and in the quality of teaching. It did however praise pupils who are ‘consistently well behaved’, and get on well together. It also praised the school for the extra support given to vulnerable pupils and the strong partnership work with parents, who are well engaged with the school.
In response to concerns about teaching the LEA said progress was already being made through the leadership of a new headteacher, Mr Norrie who said “At the moment 50% of the teaching is good, we are aiming for this to be 80%. Teachers are planning together and each pupil’s progress is being monitored.”
Parents were pleased with the progress the school had made, but were concerned that another new headteacher, Mr McMullen was to take over. Mr McMullen said he was committed to maintaining the good work that had already begun, so that the transition would be seamless.
The parents were clear that the pressure was still on the LEA to make sure Whiteways maintained its improvement. A further inspection of the school will take place in a year’s time
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