Devonshire Primary Academy taking ‘effective action’ in quest to be a ‘good’ school

John Donald from the education watchdog said the school, which has around 470 children aged three to 11, should continue to improve in order to be rated ‘good’.

In a letter to headteacher Nick Toyne, obtained by The Gazette, he said: “Your focused leadership has drawn together a staff team whose members are determined to move this school from requires 
improvement to good.

“You, along with the senior leaders and governors, have an accurate view of the school’s current strengths and where improvements are yet to be made.”

Devonshire was told it ‘requires improvement’ in 2015 at its first Ofsted inspection since becoming an academy two years earlier. It was given the same rating in September 2017, with a follow-up visit paid to the school last month.

Mr Toyne and Mr Donald visited classes in each group, while meetings were held with senior teachers, governors, and council workers.

Mr Donald’s letter added: “The academy should take further action to continue to improve outcomes for pupils, improve consistency in standards of presentation and handwriting, and fill the [three] vacancies on the governing body in order to broaden the skills with which governors challenge senior leaders.”

Mr Toyne told The Gazette: “We are very pleased with the positive feedback from our recent monitoring visit.

“The report recognises the hard work of the staff and the progress that we are making in readiness for our next full inspection.”

Three teachers have left since the last inspection, with one coming in, while senior teachers have also been “redistributed” to “meet the needs of the pupils better”.