School 'really happy' at improved Ofsted report (From Watford Observer)
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Garston Manor School 'really happy' at improved Ofsted report
9:00am Friday 18th January 2013 in News
By Ben Endley, Senior reporter
School 'really happy' at improved Ofsted report
A Garston primary school has improved its Ofsted rating from satisfactory to good following its most recent inspection.
Garston Manor School, in Horseshoe Lane, has been rated ‘good’ by the schools watchdog - an improvement on 2009’s ‘satisfactory’ inspection.
The report praised the supportive environment created by staff and the individual attention given to each student.
Headmistress Julie Lowman said: "I am really happy as it reflects all the hard work of the students, parents and carers. It is really good news and shows we are a forward thinking school."
Mrs Lowman, who has worked at the school for 24 years, began her employment as a part-time P.E. teacher. She has been in the role of headmistress for the past 5 years.
Speaking to the Watford Observer she emphasised that the new rating was "a team effort".
Garston Manor is a specialist school catering for children with moderate learning difficulties, autism and speech and language related needs. The latest report said: "Teachers manage pupils’ behaviour well" adding "the nature of homework has been revised this term to make the tasks more flexible".
But inspectors recommended greater emphasis be put on improving reading skills.
Looking to the future, Mrs Lowman said: "One always aims for outstanding".
Razor Sharp says...
9:40am Fri 18 Jan 13
I'm pleased, but sad at the same time. Are the schools working to deliver good or excellent provision, because it's good for the learners or are they positioning themselves to jump through Ofsted hoops?
Private schools and colleges have less stringent checks and have more flexibility as a consequence. They normally undergo ISI inspection, which is a diluted equivalent of Ofsted.
However, with grade 2 'good', the school can be free some inspection for longer, so the new framework has introduced some flexibility into the equation.
'Good' is now the new 'Satisfactory', since 'Satisfactory' is now 'Requires Improvement', which triggers an early inspection. So the only real choice to avoid an inspection nightmare is to gain either Grade 2 'Good' or Grade 1 'Outstanding' under the new Ofstead framework. Is it any wonder that some Academies and Colleges are being selective about their curriculum portfolio. Perhaps Ofsted is indirectly leading to a dumbing down of the curriculum portfolio in order to drive up success rates at a time when the cost of undergraduate education is the highest it's ever been, with poor graduate employment statistics for the 'soft' subject options.
Perhaps, in that respect, professional and graduate Apprenticeships should be welcomed. The divide between rich and poor is only set to increase, with private schools offering, in the main, more robust and traditional hard subjects.