Education

Staff at Jennett's Park Primary School have been told to improve by Ofsted inspectors
advertisement

Jennett's Park Primary School told it must improve by Ofsted inspectors

By Becky Barnes
February 11, 2013

Pupils at the borough’s newest primary school are not making good enough progress and teaching needs to be improved, according to Ofsted inspectors.

But council bosses and the headteacher of Jennett’s Park CE Primary School say the ‘requires improvement’ rating is ‘very encouraging’ following an inspection on December 5 and 6 last year.

The report said teaching at the school, which opened in Tawny Owl Square in September 2011, was ‘not consistently good’.

It said: “Teachers do not always plan activities to meet the needs of all pupils, especially the most able.

“In some lessons, teachers do not correct pupils’ misunderstandings and teaching assistants do not always help pupils learn throughout the lesson.

“Not enough pupils are making consistently good progress, especially in mathematics.”

It went on to say basic mathematical skills were not taught effectively and middle leaders do not measure shortcomings in the quality of teaching, meaning they cannot help teachers ensure all pupils make at least good progress.

Bracknell youngsters praised for SATs results

Janette Karklins, director of Children, Young People and Learning at Bracknell Forest Council, said: “This first Ofsted report is very encouraging. The report highlights the welcoming and inclusive environment of the school and that pupils behave well and are well cared for.

“We are working closely with the school to implement the areas highlighted for improvements and are confident a future inspection will reflect the changes made.”

The ‘welcoming and inclusive’ school was praised as somewhere where pupils are happy, well-behaved and settle well, with parents being ‘overwhelmingly positive about all aspects of the school’s work’.

It went on: “Leaders, staff and the governing body know what they need to do to bring about rapid improvements to ensure that all pupils meet their full potential.”

Maria Soulsby, headteacher at Jennett’s Park CE Primary School, said: “We are pleased Ofsted have recognised the strong leadership of the school which has worked tirelessly to establish our new school with many strengths.

“We have already made good progress in improving the achievement of reading across the school and are confident that we are well placed to make the rapid improvements recommended by our inspection team.

“Jennett’s Park is a wonderful school, which is very positively supported by the local community. I look forward to my continued work with the children, their families, our staff and governors, the Diocese of Oxford and the Local Authority to ensure that we continue on our journey to become the best school we can be.”

| Submit Comments | View Comments (42)

« Previous Story | Next Story »

Most recent user comments 15 of 42

1 | 2 | 3 | Next Page Show 15 | 25 | 50 per page

I agree in that I don't think that the paper is gunning for the school, but i do think that there is an individual who is. The actual report itself is simply a cut and paste job from the ofsted report and probably some sort of statement from the local authorities. It isn't the best constructed piece of work and one could argue it's bias, but every newspaper report has bias and we all should be aware of that whatever paper we read. It seems to be me that what has caused the parents of this school to become so upset and seek to defend their school and community with such passion are actually the comments of Education Observer, whose early outlandish claims regarding votes of no confidence and parents up in arms seem to have no basis whatsoever. I also can't see anything in the Ofsted report which would suggest that the school is 'very very close to Special Measures', as stated by aforementioned Education Observer, nor can I find any use of the word 'poor' within the report. The report does however suggest that the senior leaders of the school know what they're doing and that they know what they need to do next, does state that the governors are doing a good job and implies that the head is also doing a good job, well supported by other staff. the report also confirms that support from the local authority is good. That would seem encouraging to me. There seems to be no evidence to support a number of Education Observer's claims, which leads me to the view that he/she is seeking to stir the pot and cause trouble and I would agree with a previous poster who has suggested that this person has it in for the school for some unknown reason. Sad that this person doesn't have the courage to take up their specific concerns with the school itself and simply uses this website to wind people up behind the cowardly mask of anonymity.

mary2, berkshire
16/02/2013 at 16:44

JP Resident. Bravo.

This is the point I've been trying to make.

It's very one-eyed of the JP parents just to take the easy route and blame the paper (which has done nothing wrong at all in my eyes).

The implication is that somehow the paper was gunning for the school, when all the article was doing was reporting it's Ofsted reports.

I've searched for Ofsted reports and there's plenty of coverage of good ones and bad ones, written in a similar style.

I'm not a trained reporter but it seems the obvious thing to do to focus on the recommendation or grade in the report, as do the rest of the stories I've looked at.

Megaman
15/02/2013 at 12:41

I never normally post comments but feel compelled after reading various posts here, and also on a Jennets Park Community facebook page. I am a jp resident and think that it is highly commendable that fellow residents feel so passionate about the school. I do however feel that completely disregarding OFSTED's findings as 'a load of rubbish' and 'what would they know' is a little bit silly! At the end of the day they have a job to do, and I am sure we were all guided by OFSTED' reports and utilised them when selecting our 2 other schools when submitting our school applications. If they are such idiots, 'who don't know what they are talking', about why did we all do this?! I just think that brandishing reporters - who were reporting facts, positive and negative- as idiots, and general public who post a comment that is not to the majority of JP's liking, as 'Trolls' , actually paints the parents/residents/supporters of the school in quite a bad light! It's all well and good feeling passionate about something, but perhaps your points would be more respected if they were raised in a different manner, rather than just 'slagging off' in a vigilante fashion anyone who doesn't agree with you! I'm sure prospective parents of potential pupils at the school will also be watching the current school parents' behaviour as well as the children.

jp resident, bracknell
15/02/2013 at 11:43

Perfect is non existent. Judgements are based on personal experiences in the case of children and parents and based upon work requirements in the case of emotionally detached OFSTED inspectors. I believe the majority of people aim to work well within their roles- teachers are aiming to provide the best for the children who are entrusted to them, an inspector's purpose is to establish an understanding of the general strengths and weaknesses and it's a reporters role to write articles that stir awareness albeit fair or biased at the demand of the editor. As parents it is our role to be wise and controlled and helpful in our discussions. We are role models and even we, perhaps more than the reporters, inspectors and teachers fail our children the most at times .... But we do our best, love our children and strive for more. This debate, like many others has seemingly turned into a spectacle of who can write the most profound, grammatically correct paragraphs. This is not an arena to boost the inflated ego or to be petty. Less judgements, more understanding, forgiveness, optimism, encouragement, transparency; these things make a community a partnership.

polarbear
15/02/2013 at 00:01

I think the point is that the first half of the article quite clearly quotes from the Ofsted report and is entirely negative.

The 'Leaders, staff and Governing body, rapid improvement'' quote is then mixed in with the quotations from the Karlkins making it extremely unclear that it comes from the Ofsted report and is not some Council representative trying to ignore the findings of the report.

There is a thorough plan in place to bring the maths learning quickly to the high level that reading already attains and that plan was in place before Ofsted set foot inside the building. Ofsted acknowledged this and, I'm sure when they return within the next 24 months, they will happily report on the improvements that have been made.

As parents we are constantly kept informed with happenings within the school and what is being done to improve our children's learning and we are no way accepting the mediocre, we have complete faith in our school and its Head teacher.

Mr Education Advisor, you have still not confirmed whether or not you have a child attending the school so I presume you do not which in turn leads me to assume you have some kind of personal bias to the school, it's Head or staff members because I cannot see what any of this has to do with you.

Happy JP Parent, Berkshire
14/02/2013 at 20:37

Berkogreen

I maintain my point that it's impossible for a newspaper to report an entire 100-odd page Ofsted report.

OK, let's analyse.

First line. "Pupils at the borough’s newest primary school are not making good enough progress and teaching needs to be improved, according to Ofsted inspectors."

Negative, yes. Facts? Yes. This is the story.

Line two "But council bosses and the headteacher of Jennett’s Park CE Primary School say the ‘requires improvement’ rating is ‘very encouraging’ following an inspection on December 5 and 6 last year."

Positive.

The next bit explains how the report says the children are not being taught properly. Facts from the report. Negative.

The next bit, from the report.

“Leaders, staff and the governing body know what they need to do to bring about rapid improvements to ensure that all pupils meet their full potential.”

Positive.

The final bit. A quote from the headteacher. Undoubtedly positive.

So, the introduction to the story presents the FACT the school has been told to improve.

The next bit explains why containing FACTS from the report.

The rest of the article is positive from the council, the teachers and more FACTS from the report.

At no point does anyone say what will be done to improve, but that's another arguement.

The next bit. Dr Karklins quote: Undoubtedly positive.

Would you prefer a story full of gushing praise followed by a bit at the very end saying "by the way, the school has been told to improve and that standards of teaching aren't good enough?"

Actually, you probably would.

Megaman
14/02/2013 at 13:01

The second 'helpfulness' should be 'constructiveness' - apologies.

Berkogreen, Bracknell
14/02/2013 at 12:25

Megaman, perhaps this will help you out.

Negative - lacking in helpfulness, helpfulness, optimism, cooperativeness.

Positive - emphasizing what is laudable, hopeful, or to the good; constructive: a positive attitude.

Perhaps you can answer your own question?

The voice of reason - Becky Barnes has not reported what was written. She has chosen and manipulated certain points to create a story. The headline could have read 'New Bracknell School starts with an encouraging Ofsted Inspection', which to many people it is. But that probably wouldn't have caught yours and others eyes! Perhaps if this article was about your daughters school you would have a different opinion?

Education Observer - what planet are YOU on! You seem to contradict yourself??? One comment suggests the 'we as parent(s) are not happy and in your more recent comment you state that 'it is so sad to see and read the parents of Jennett's Park happy to accept mediocrity' as if you aren't one! So which is it? Do you actually have anything to do with JP or are you just on this thread creating trouble?

Berkogreen, Bracknell
14/02/2013 at 12:23

How is the headline negative?

It is what the report recommends. It's a fact.

Megaman
14/02/2013 at 08:18

I think part of the reason this has provoked such a response is that it follows a radio programme discussing a similar topic and incorporating JP school - so I think parents are just fed up and feel very protective over the school and the teachers and want them to be left alone to get on with what they do best :-)

Very happy JP parent
13/02/2013 at 21:13

Can I just add the following:

This is a new school, with new staff, new classrooms, new pupils - it takes months and years of hard graft to get a school to be maximising its full potential.

Ofsted highlighted a few areas to improve, and that is very very common for a new school.

Unfortunately the newspaper wrongly considered there was a story to be told. The article headline is negative, so it is a biased story, seeking to create a bad impression on the school. Hopefully the journalist has read the comments on this page and realises the mistake she made. There should be no professional satisfaction in creating a biased article when it's children's education at stake. Lets leave the leaders of the school to get on with developing an inclusive, well behaved school, where children are able to realise their full potential.

Mark Mathews
13/02/2013 at 20:59

In response to the comment below:

I personally only read the article and then read the Ofsted report and hence commented

As an "outsider" after reading the report, it is fantastic for a school to have great support from the parents, but I still feel all the reporter did was report what was written.

Maybe the article could have had a section added to by the parents saying how they felt as well - just to even up the story

Maybe though it might be better to have a representative who contacts Ofsted as you obviously feel so strongly, because most parents read the Ofsted report before sending a child to a school

My child is at a school where the report says could do better on maths, but she is thriving there, other parents may say different about their child

I think personally if Ms Soulsby had just said yes there are teething problems and children have joined us from different schools at different levels and this will take time to fully bring everyone up to speed, then I don't think there would be as many comments, as what she says and the director of learning says are almost we are ignoring the Ofsted report type of comments

The voice of reason
13/02/2013 at 20:57

Firstly I am not one to join these discussions BUT a few days on I can't sit by and let people bad mouth our school. So please see my thoughts below:

1. 96% of parents would recommend the school, this says it all

2. JP school did NOT expect to get an outstanding ofsted report - it is a new school and a fantastic job has been done getting the school up and running with a lot of positive aspects that have been highlighted in the recent ofsted report

3. There are areas that need improvement certainly, however there is already an action plan in place to accomplish this

4. Teachers are human beings, ofsted is a stressful environment, people get nervous and may not perform as well as they usually would

JP school is at the heart of the community with wonderful teachers and leaders. They need support to be the best they can be, not a continuous kicking from people that don't even have children at the school. Someone has suggested that they think there won't be a high demand for the school, but I will tell you this now, there will be tears in April when the reception places have been allocated and some people don't get in! This school will go from strength to strength over the next few years and it WILL achieve an outstanding ofsted in the future! I just hope that those criticising it now are big enough to say they were wrong!

Thank you Very happy JP mummy

Very happy JP parent
13/02/2013 at 20:27

Dear Mr Education Observer

You don't really have anything decent to say about JP school do you? The school has done an amazing job since it opened in 2011. Since opening, the teachers have coped tremendously and dealt with the constant stream of prospective parents wanting to view the school, new children starting half way through term times and having to teach children who have joined from other schools in the area not being able to read. Yes, the school staff are young, but they are enthusiastic, patient and knowledgable teachers and a great inspiration for the children. There will always be problems with any new school, and who's to say they were not already dealing with the weaknesses of the school when the Ofsted inspector turned up. Sadly as is the case with all new schools, companies etc, there are always staff who need extra training as the Companies they were at before did not invest in them or bother about any weaknesses. Becky Barnes supposedly lives on JP and she has chosen to write an article highlighting all the negative parts of the inspection without actually understanding that Ofsted were unable to give the school a higher rating because it is too new and does not have a history of achievement. I bet the story would have been completely different if she was trying to get her child into the nursery!

I have absolute faith in the school and my child comes homes each day excited about what he has learnt and the simple fact that he is higher in reading and maths than his best friend who goes to a top private school in Ascot says it all.