HEADTEACHERS in Dorset are ‘very pleased’ with primary school performance tables released today.

The figures revealed some top results in the league tables with teachers saying progress is being made in the county.

Follow the link to view the tables

Dorset school table.pdf

 

The number of 11-year-olds reaching the government’s required standard remains high in Dorset, according to the tables published by the Department of Education.

Some teachers are in favour of the national Scholastic Assessment Tests (SATs) taken by 10 and 11-year-olds in English and maths, while others say the figures released don’t provide a full picture of a school’s achievements.

Ofsted revealed that Dorset features 14th on a list which gives the percentages of pupils attending good or outstanding primary schools by local authority area in England.

The table shows that 89 per cent of pupils in the county attend good or outstanding schools.

Darlington is at the top with 97 per cent.

Jyotsna Chaffey, headteacher at Thorner’s School, Litton Cheney, said these exams were ‘useful’ but did not provide a full picture of pupil achievement.

She said she was ‘really pleased’ with their results despite not matching last year’s success, when the school scored 100 per cent in each criteria.

The criteria scores how much progress pupils have made and how many pupils have reached the national average Level 4.

Ms Chaffey said: “This year we are one of only seven schools in Dorset, a total of 91 schools, in which all children made at least two levels or more progress in reading, writing and maths.”

Two levels progress is the nationally expected level.

She added: “We are a small school so it just depends very often on the particular cohort and how competitive they are.

“I think these exams are very useful as one of the ways to measure how children get on at primary school. There are of course other factors.”

Darren Marklew, vice principal at the Osprey Quay campus of the Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy (IPACA), said they were ‘very pleased in the significant improvement in all areas’.

The figures, which revealed results for the whole Academy, recorded a 78 per cent achieving Level 4 or above in the maths test, with 64 per cent achieving Level 4 or above in reading and maths tests and in writing.

Mr Marklew said that this previously stood at only 42 per cent achieving Level 4 or above since IPACA was formed on Portland.

“We are pleased with the significant improvements in all areas.

“We are around the national average and a little below in some areas and of course all schools want to do better and get nearer to 100 per cent but we are pleased with the improvements in the past year.”

He added: “It is important for us to see an increase in the number of children making at least two levels progress in maths, reading and writing. We believe in a skills based curriculum which allows children to develop and progress and this is most important aspect for us so they can then go on to strive for the best GCSE results.”

Some of best in country

DORSET has some of the best schools in the country, according to a new report.

Ofsted’s annual report lists authorities according to the percentage of pupils attending schools ranked good or outstanding by inspectors.

The county is ranked 37th out of 151 for secondary pupils at 86 per cent and 14th for primary pupils with 89 per cent.

The national average is 74 per cent and 78 per cent respectively.

But Dorset County Council is being urged to close the gap between affluent and poorer pupils.

The report states: “Although the attainment of all children in the South West needs to rise to ensure they have the best chance in life, the very low attainment of children eligible for free school meals is a real concern.

“In Dorset, barely one quarter of pupils eligible for free school meals achieved five good GCSEs with English and mathematics, well below the England level of similar pupils.

“In the South Dorset parliamentary constituency, pupils eligible for free school meals performed less well than similar pupils nationally in all secondary schools.”

And the report says, however, that schools previously judged good or even outstanding at their last inspection located in highly ranked local authorities should not be complacent.

Examination and test results for such schools suggest that not all are maintaining previously high standards and as such are being identified for re-inspection.

For example, between September 1, 2012 and August 31, 2013, 16 previously outstanding schools in Dorset were re-inspected as a result of declining test and examination results.

Of these, 12 were no longer judged to be outstanding, with only four maintaining their outstanding status.

Of 17 previously good schools inspected in the same local authority area in the same period, five had declined and only two had improved to become outstanding.

Meanwhile, representatives of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Schools have descended on Bournemouth after the borough was ranked near the bottom of tables produced by inspection body Ofsted.

They will report back to the Chief Inspector of Schools Sir Michael Wilshaw and the results will be published in January.

The top secondary school areas in the country include Bath, Camden and Kensington and Chelsea with the Isle of Wight at the bottom of the table.

For primary schools, Darlington has the best figures with Wolverhampton at the bottom of the pile.