School report

ENGLISH and Science provision at Oakgrove Integrated College is “very good” but Maths provision could improve and the school’s management needs to address some areas if the needs of all the learners are to be met more effectively, according to the Education and Training Inspectorate.

An new inspection report assessing the standard of education and management at the Waterside school found a “very good quality of provision” in English and Science but room for improvement in Maths and a need also to improve leadership and management.

The ETI inspection report was published last month and follows a visit by inspectors in November 2010.

In the areas inspected the quality of education provided by the school was considered satisfactory.

The main strengths of the school include the “very good quality of provision in English and Science; improving results in many subjects at General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) level; strong commitment to inclusion, special educational needs and cultural diversity; and a good start made by many of the departments in self-evaluation.”

Inspectors found the quality of teaching observed mostly good or better; and praised the effective leadership of the principal, particularly with regard to raising the standards achieved by the pupils in external examinations.

The newly published report did, however, find some areas where improvement was needed.

These included a “need to review and amend appropriately the roles and responsibilities of the leadership team to ensure that all members play a part in the strategic management of the school.”

The inspectors also found “a need for the leadership team to ensure that rigorous monitoring and evaluation of all aspects of the curricular and pastoral provision is undertaken in a systematic manner.”

There was also a “need to implement appropriate measures to ensure that the effective practice is disseminated across all of the classes.”

In conclusion the report states: “In most of the areas inspected the quality of education provided in this school is satisfactory; the strengths outweigh areas for improvement.

“The inspection has identified areas for improvement in leadership and management which need to be addressed if the needs of all the learners are to be met more effectively. The Inspectorate will monitor and report on the school’s progress in addressing the area for improvement.”

Whilst English and Science provision were found to be “very good” Maths provision could be improved.

There is a need to “raise further the standards achieved by the pupils in GCSE mathematics by, for example, matching the work more closely to the pupils’ mathematical ability; improve the quality of the teaching through, for example, focusing more sharply on the intended learning and using effective questioning strategies; and develop further the strategies for monitoring and evaluation used by the teachers, leading to improvement.”

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