School could do better

A junior school in Newark could raise its standards, although it provides a satisfactory eduction for its pupils, says an Ofsted report.

Hawtonville Junior School on Holden Crescent was inspected on February 5 and 6.

A report by an inspector, Mr Keith Edwards, said the school had made satisfactory progress since the last inspection in March, 2003 and had the capacity to continue improving.

It said pupils numbers had fallen by one third since then. There are currently 223 pupils on the roll.

It said until 2006, the results in national tests for pupils in year six in English, maths and science had risen year-on-year.

The report said the trend suffered a setback in 2007 when the school fell markedly short of its targets.

It said the head, Mr Richard Cooper, had remained resolute in his determination to bring about improvements and an upturn was now evident in pupils’ work.

The report said that although current standards in English, particularly writing, were below average, standards in maths and science were broadly average and this was a vast improvement on last year.

It said the school had retained the confidence of parents and the local community.

It was recommended that the school raise standards, particularly in writing, and could also improve the quality of teaching and learning, particularly by identifying higher attaining pupils and planning work that challenged them.

The report said pupils’ personal development was good. It said they behaved well around school and in lessons, were polite and helpful and mindful of the school rules.

The report said teaching was satisfactory overall with some good features and the curriculum was satisfactory with strengths in the range of extra-curricular and enrichment activities offered.

It said care, guidance and support for pupils were good.

The leadership and management of the school was satisfactory and the head was committed to improving the quality of education in the face of falling pupil numbers and had developed a strong leadership team with clear lines of accountability.

It said the school was developing good working partnerships with neighbouring schools to accelerate the rate of change and improvement, but the full impact of these initiatives was yet to be felt.

It said the governors were committed to the work of the school and provided conscientious support.