A Hollinwood primary school that was put into special measures is showing signs of improvement, according to education inspectors.

Ofsted revisited St Margaret’s CE Junior Infant and Nursery School after branding it inadequate last October.
Inspectors sat in on lessons, looked at pupils’ work and talked to them, scrutinised documents and met the headteacher, staff and governors.

They found progress since the last visit had been satisfactory, but felt that improvements were still needed in some areas.

Last year’s Ofsted report criticised the school for low achievement in English – half of pupils are from ethnic minority backgrounds and English is a secondary language.

Inspectors also said teaching aimed at tackling low attainment was poor, there was underachievement among the most gifted and talented pupils, an ineffective Early Years Foundation Stage, ineffective management and governance, and weak self-evaluation.

On their latest visit, they found that there had been a satisfactory rise in attainment in English, although results in the national tests at the end of Key Stage 2 were still significantly below average.

There was also progress in terms of the support the governing body offered the school and there was better self-evaluation and planning on the school’s most important priorities. But they still found evidence of inadequate leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage, while the most able pupils were still not being challenged enough.

The school remains the only one in the borough in special measures and will continue to receive extra help and monitoring visits to check that things are improving.

The school declined to comment.

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