Setting

Peter Shaw Headteacher Carisbrooke College Mountbatten Drive Newport PO30 5QU

p.1

Special measures monitoring inspection of Carisbrooke College

Following my visit to your school on 13 June 2013, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave during the inspection and for the time you made available to discuss the actions which have been taken since the school’s recent section 5 inspection.

p.1

Special measures monitoring inspection of Carisbrooke College

The inspection was the first monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in March 2013.

p.1

Evidence

During this inspection, meetings were held with the school’s senior leaders, members of the governing body and representatives from the Isle of Wight and Hampshire local authorities. The local authority’s statement of action, the school’s improvement plan and a number of documents were evaluated.

p.1

Context

One of the school’s deputy headteachers has left the school since the section 5 inspection.

p.1

The quality of leadership and management at the school

You and your senior colleagues fully and honestly acknowledge the school’s many weaknesses. You realise that there is a considerable amount to do. However, you Tribal 1-4 Portland Square Bristol BS2 8RR T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0117 311 5359 Direct F 0117 315 0430 Email : christina.bannerman@tribalgroup.com and your senior team have set about the task with gusto and determination. Much has been achieved in the past few weeks.

p.1

The quality of leadership and management at the school

The school has made clear progress on all of the main areas for improvement, although you rightly recognise that teaching must be your top priority. Sensible processes are in place to monitor the quality of lessons and provide teachers with support and training to help them to improve. This training is being shaped to reflect what you know about different teachers’ current performance. There are very clear targets for students’ achievement at different points in the year and staff regularly assess whether students are on track to meet them. This information is analysed well and presented clearly. However, more needs to be done to check teachers’ assessments to ensure that they are made consistently and accurately.

p.2

The quality of leadership and management at the school

The school’s original improvement plan has a number of weaknesses. For example, it does not fully capture the range of actions that staff are actually taking and it is not clear enough about how the school will measure and evaluate the success of the plan. You had already recognised this before my visit. The first section of a revised plan has already been written. This is a much better document.

p.2

The quality of leadership and management at the school

Governors have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses, and they provide appropriate challenge to the school’s leaders. They monitor the school’s progress for themselves in a range of ways. However, the purpose of some of this monitoring is not sufficiently clear and it is not tied closely enough to the key priorities and actions in the improvement plan.

p.2

The quality of leadership and management at the school

The school is being well supported. This support is coming from a range of sources, including from a private consultant and local authority staff from the Isle of Wight and Hampshire local authorities. While valuable, the coordination of such a wide range of support clearly presents a significant challenge. There is a danger of overlap, duplication and conflicting messages. In recognition of this, one advisor has been appointed to manage coordination and provide a single point of contact. This is a very helpful move.

p.2

The quality of leadership and management at the school

Following the monitoring inspection the following judgements were made:

p.2

The quality of leadership and management at the school

The local authority statement of action is fit for purpose.

p.2

The quality of leadership and management at the school

The school’s improvement plan is not fit for purpose.

p.2

The quality of leadership and management at the school

The school may not appoint newly qualified teachers before the next monitoring inspection. I am copying this letter to the Secretary of State, the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children’s Services for the Isle of Wight. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

p.2