Ofsted calls for improvements in teaching at Soham Village College
Soham Village College - Credit: Archant
THE standard of teaching at Soham Village College is not up to scratch according to inspectors, who say the school requires improvement.
Ofsted praised several aspects of Soham Village College – including elements of teaching, the behaviour of students and certain areas of leadership but said that the college had “overestimated” the quality of its teaching.
In his report, lead inspector James McAtear said: “Teaching requires improvement because too few lessons are outstanding or good. This is because the school has not judged the quality of teaching in the school accurately enough.
“Overestimating the standard of teaching has not helped teachers to improve because actions to address weaknesses in teaching are not carried out consistently or rapidly enough.”
Inspectors did say, however, that teaching in science was often outstanding because teachers use methods which engaged students, while the teaching of reading was also highly effective.
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However, the report said that too few lessons were good or outstanding, and that work in English was not always set at the right level.
The report added: “Students in Year 11 make less progress overall than might be expected given their starting points in Year 7.
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“This is particularly so in English in terms of the standards reached in students’ writing. As a result of this, achievement in the school requires improvement.”
The behaviour of students, both in lessons and as they moved around school, was praised by inspectors, who said: “Relationships between teachers and students are good and the atmosphere is warm and friendly. The ethos of the school is positive and the school provides an environment in which achieving highly is celebrated.”
Principal Dr Carin Taylor said: “Work has already begun on an action plan to ensure that rapid progress is made to address the issues raised by this inspection. We are determined to learn from this inspection, to build on our many strengths and to deliver an outstanding education for our students.”
