Dales primary school rated as '˜inadequate'

Hawes Community Primary School, in North Yorkshire, was rated as inadequate overall following an inspection report last month.

The report rates the school’s leadership and management as inadequate while the quality of teaching and learning, personal development, behaviour and welfare of pupils and its early years provision are all said to require improvement.

The school has now developed an action plan for rapid improvement following the outcome of the Ofsted inspection.

North Yorkshire County Council said the authority and the school’s governing body were working together to raise standards quickly and that partnerships with good and outstanding local schools were in place.

The Ofsted report concluded that school leaders’ capacity to address weaknesses in teaching was poor.

Inspectors also found that leaders did not rigorously check whether teachers and pupils were doing well and as a result weaker teaching had not been identified.

The report says some pupils who have fallen behind in their learning and those who have special educational needs were not helped to catch up quickly.

And it criticises governors for underestimating the significance of weak test results which led to “an inaccurate view of how the school is performing.”

The report adds: “Governors have not been tenacious enough in challenging school leaders.”

However the report praises the teaching of and pupils’ achievements in reading.

It also says pupils behave well in and out of lessons and that there are some strengths in teaching in most classrooms.

Inspectors called for an action plan to improve the quality of teaching and to strengthen the school’s leadership, management and governance.

North Yorkshire County Council says that partnerships with other good local schools are now in place and that the authority would also strengthen leadership and management.

County Councillor Arthur Barker, North Yorkshire’s executive member for schools said: “Our priority in North Yorkshire is for all children to have access to good or outstanding schools. They deserve nothing less. We are supporting Hawes Community primary through this challenging period and will work with all partners to make sure children in the community are given quality teaching and learning and that provision improves rapidly.”

County Councillor John Blackie, the local member for the area said: “Having a successful primary school in Hawes, which provides a high quality and rewarding-all-round educational experience for our children and which inspires the confidence of the local community it serves, must be at the very heart of our objectives and aspirations for the future of the Upper Dales. The sooner Hawes school is back on track the better.”

The school’s chairman of governors Kevin Tasker said; “Hawes primary is supported by a strong community.

“We believe that the issues identified by Ofsted can be addressed quickly. We all remain totally committed to ensuring that our children receive the best quality education possible.”