Kent primary schools show another strong performance through their OFSTED outcomes for 2015-16, with 45 schools improving their grading, against just 3 declining. This is underlined by very good figures in the latest Key Stage 2 attainment results, according to provisional results by Local Authority which place Kent 21st out of 152 Authorities, with 58% of children reaching the expected standard, well above the national figure of 52%. A KCC website providing information for teachers includes the view of the Corporate Director of Education on both OFSTED and Performance in National assessments.
Medway is at last also getting better, with 9 improved OFSTED outcomes against one down. Provisional KS2 results place Medway 25 places from the bottom with 48%, not good but a marked improvement on its bottom five position every previous year since 2009.
This is the first year that both attainment and progress are assessed at KS2, the new progress measure figures to be released later in the year.
Back in February when I reported on performance for the first half of the year, just three Kent schools had been found Outstanding, but this figure has now leapt to 11, with Blean, Brookfield, Great Chart, Hartley Primary Academy, Roseacre Junior, Sandwich Junior, and Tunstall CofE all improving their level from Good, and Herne CofE Junior leaping two grades from Requires Improvement to Outstanding.
In Medway, there are signs of progress at last with 72% of schools inspected last year found Good or Outstanding, the two schools assessed as Outstanding being Barnsole, up two levels from Requires Improvement, and Horsted Infants, up from Good. Two academies Oasis Skinner Street and Saxon Way are both up from Special Measures to Good.
You will find individual school outcomes for several years in the Information pages for Kent and Medway primary schools. I reported on last year’s OFSTED performance here.
One of the reasons standards are improving according to this measure is the steady conversion of schools, especially weaker ones, to become academies wiping out any past OFSTED outcome. It also leaves them free for Inspection for three years unless there are exceptional circumstances. Quite reasonably parents of children at some of these schools, who are concerned about standards, are very unhappy they will not be assessed in the near future.
In total, 79% of the Kent primary schools inspected this year were found to be Good or Outstanding.
Five schools have been handed over to Academy chains because of failure, none at present looking as if they have been turned around. Kings Farm and Whitehill were brought to their knees by malevolent leadership, although both are now climbing rapidly. Two others were severely damaged by headteachers who should have retired earlier. Pressure on places means that I have few suggestions for the parents who contact me about problems in their schools.
The biggest news is probably the Academy success of two schools previously in Special Measures, now awarded Good assessments. Oasis Skinner Street was given a pre-warning Notice of Closure by government because of poor standards just over a year ago, this public failure clearly inspiring the company to invest in the school to ‘effect transformation’ but it should never have been necessary.