A primary school where pupils have ‘borne the brunt of a serious decline in the quality of education’ has been deemed ‘inadequate’ by inspectors. This follows a visit by an Ofsted team to Kerem Shloime in Broughton in January. At its prior inspection the school was said to be ‘good’.
“[The pupils’] academic development has suffered considerably,” the report said. “They deserve better.” It said expectations for pupils’ achievement were low. “In most subjects, the work that they receive does not help them to build up the knowledge that they need,” it continued.
“In some subjects, they have hardly any lessons at all. This means that pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), do not achieve well.”
READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community
In contrast, it said, leaders’ expectations for children in the early years are much higher. “They thrive and learn in their well-organised environment.”
The report said that pupils understand and follow school rules. Older pupils are respectful to adults and the school is ‘generally calm and orderly’. “Leaders take swift action to address any bullying if it occurs,” the report said.
“Pupils have opportunities to visit sports centres and local parks in order to learn more about their community. They learn that they must respect people who are different from themselves. However, their understanding of the range of differences that exist between people is limited.”
The school, which has a capacity of 221 pupils, has been without permanent leadership since its last inspection when it was judged to be ‘good’.
“During this time, the curriculum has become disorganised and fragmented,” the report continued. “Leaders have failed to get to grips with the necessary work to improve it.
“Instead, they have become too dependent on temporary external support. Consequently, in most subjects, pupils experience jumbled, disconnected learning that prevents them from learning as well as they should.”
The Ofsted team said the curriculum does not meet the independent school standards. “Leaders have not ensured that staff have the subject knowledge that they need to teach the curriculum effectively,” the report said.
“The activities teachers provide are frequently too easy for pupils. This prevents them from deepening their understanding.
“In almost all subjects, staff are unclear about how to check pupils’ learning because there is insufficient information in the curriculum. This prevents staff from using assessment information to improve the learning that they provide for pupils.”
However, the report said the curriculum in the early years ‘shines brightly’ in comparison to that for older pupils. “Here, leaders have a clear vision for what they want children to know and to be able to do in readiness for Year 1,” it said. “They have organised the curriculum well in each area of learning. Children build their new knowledge securely on what they already know.
“Staff use information from their assessments to adjust learning for children.” The report said leaders and staff work together to identify pupils with SEND.
But it went on: “However, the support that these pupils receive to access the curriculum cannot compensate for its deficiencies. Pupils with SEND suffer from the same curriculum weaknesses as their classmates and consequently, they underachieve.”
The report said that pupils learn about values such as democracy, tolerance and the rule of law. They learn about relationships between friends and family members, but learn very little about other faiths and cultures.
“They do not learn, in ways that are appropriate for their age, about the differences between people that are protected by the law,” it said. “This limits their readiness for life in British society.”
The report said arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Although its overall grading is ‘inadequate’ for the sub-categories of behaviour and attitudes and early years provision, it was said to be ‘good’. For personal development it was judged ‘requires improvement and for the quality of education it was deemed ‘inadequate’.
Kerem Shloime has made no comment after numerous requests from the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
READ NEXT:
- 'Panicking' murder accused, 19, searched 'how much time do you serve for killing someone', jury told
- 'Abusive and controlling' rapist jailed after victims' families witnessed 'red flag behaviour'
- Manchester Airport has the 'UK's best food'... apparently
- Things to do in Greater Manchester over King's Coronation weekend
- Manchester's lost amusement arcade cafe sold 'the best' sandwiches and toasties with coleslaw 'to die for'
