Shropshire primary school told to improve teaching
A Shropshire village primary school has been ordered to improve after Ofsted inspectors concluded 'teaching is not good enough'.
Adderley C of E Primary School, in Adderley, near Market Drayton, has been told it 'requires improvement' because its performance is considered to have stagnated under new inspection guidelines, which demand schools to improve between visits.
It was rated satisfactory at its last inspection in 2010, but achieved the same overall result after inspectors visited on October 3 and 4 this year.
Inspectors found that the quality of teaching and pupil achievement both require improvement.
However, the school, which caters for nearly 50 children aged three to 11, was rated 'good' for behaviour and safety of pupils, and leadership and management.
In her report, Ofsted inspector Mary Hinds said: "Pupils do not achieve what they are capable of in mathematics because work is not set at the right level.
"They have weak calculation skills.
"Higher attaining pupils do not learn fast enough, particularly in mathematics, because work is not demanding enough.
"Teaching is not good enough. Although it has improved very recently, weaknesses still remain which hold back pupils' progress.
"Progress made over the last 12 months by the Year 6 pupils was good in English from their starting points.
"While progress in English in other classes and year groups has improved, it has not been sustained over a period of time.
"Teaching has recently improved, but there has been insufficient time to see the impact of this on sustained improvement in pupils' learning and progress, particularly in mathematics.
"Leaders have stopped pupils underachieving and the decline in their attainment has been halted."
The report added that the governance of the school was 'robust, proactive and supportive'.
It said that the school's strengths included use of a forest school in the grounds of the primary, and above average English and mathematics results at key stage 2 this year.
The Shropshire Star will be carrying a response from Adderley C of E Primary School on Thursday.
By Tom Johannsen
