Formal complaint as Ofsted tells school it must improve

Bosses at a Doncaster primary are making an official complaint after Ofsted told them the school must improve.
Hayfield Lane Primary School, Auckley, DoncasterHayfield Lane Primary School, Auckley, Doncaster
Hayfield Lane Primary School, Auckley, Doncaster

Hayfield Lane Primary School, in Auckley, was described as having good leadership, good personal development, behaviour and welfare and good early years provision.

But inspectors said the quality of teaching, the outcomes for pupils and the school overall required improvement.

The school is unhappy with the report.

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Headteacher Louise Tempest said: “We are pleased that the leadership and management of the school, early years provision and personal development, behaviour and welfare have been recognised as good.

“It is also extremely clear that in the other two categories our pupils reach or exceed national attainment figures. For this reason it is extremely disappointing that Ofsted based their final judgements on historical teaching/ data information, given that the school has totally transformed over the past two years, which Ofsted recognised.

“The report itself is highly contradictory. Parents, staff and governors have been shocked by the overall grading given and we are in the process of making a formal complaint about the inspection report and visit. This is supported by Doncaster Local Authority. Many parents have also submitted official complaints to Ofsted.”

Rajinder Harrison, lead inspector, said pupils’ progress was not consistently good in every subject and all classes, and the uneven progress resulted in pupils not achieving as well as they could by the end of year six.

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The report said Mrs Tempest had led school improvement effectively since its previous inspection and was very clear about where further improvements were needed to secure good outcomes for all pupils.

Many of the weaknesses identified in the previous inspection were being addressed successfully.

Teaching had improved and was good in many classes. Many teachers were still relatively new to the school and recent changes were still being established, especially for older pupils.

The report said although teaching was improving, it was still not consistently good in every subject and every class, and this was found to be limiting the overall progress pupils made.

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Some of the oldest pupils in the school, who were still making up lost ground due to weak teaching in the past, were not achieving as well as they could.

The teaching of reading was good and standards are above average and rising steadily.

The report added children made good progress in the nursery because teaching was good. Staff plan activities that encourage children to grow and flourish in a challenging and inviting environment.