An Ofsted inspector has said “more work is necessary” for an Isle of Wight school to receive a “good” rating.
In a monitoring letter to Margaret Sanderson, executive headteacher of St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Ryde, Sue Keeling noted the school understands the need for rapid improvement and has made progress.
She said leaders at St Mary’s had “acted quickly” and “robustly” to improve its services.
They had also recognised what needs to be done to deal with the “next steps” from the school’s previous Ofsted inspection report in November 2022.
Mrs Sanderson has put together a team around her that “fully supports” St Mary’s path to improvement, Ms Keeling wrote.
She has prioritised the development and rolling out of “well-sequenced” curriculums for English and mathematics.
There have also been improvements in the teaching of phonics and early reading, with phonics being taught using a “consistent” and “well-structured approach”.
Mrs Sanderson has also made sure the school’s weakest readers are “identified quickly”, with generally good support in place to help them catch up.
Ofsted’s inspector did however flag two areas needing more improvement in this area: at times staff do not fully understand the rationale behind one-to-one “reading support” and there are still “some inconsistencies” in phonics teaching.
The letter highlighted the school’s “high ambition” for its pupils to learn a wide and balanced curriculum, including its design of a “carefully considered” curriculum which is said to be at varying degrees of development.
In relation to the school’s nursery, the inspector said more clarity is needed on what children should be learning in order to attain “knowledge and skills” needed for future stages of learning – though she added this issue had been recognised.
The letter read:
“You have made a strong start in identifying the important knowledge that pupils must learn in each subject. This work is well on its way.
“However, you are aware that further work is needed to refine the curriculum content in subjects other than English and mathematics.
“In many subjects, the curriculum content often lacks sufficient precision.
“Statements identifying what pupils must know are often very broad and, therefore, it is not always clear exactly what pupils must learn to be ready for their next steps.
“This can lead to pupils developing gaps in their understanding that make future learning more difficult.”
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