Marshalls Park head slams ‘disappointing’ and ‘unfair’ Ofsted report that says Romford school ‘requires improvement’

Issued last month, the report criticised the progress of students, the “weak skills in reading and writing” of “some students, particularly boys”, the variable quality of teaching, an inadequate improvement in attendance levels, and a “slightly more generous view of teaching than is helpful to the teachers” from managers.

But head Pam Mason on Friday issued a statement criticising the report and saying the school would appeal the conclusion.

“We are extremely disappointed with the outcome of Ofsted’s inspection and that they have given us a ‘requires improvement’ judgement,” she said.

“We do not feel this is a fair reflection on where the school is now, or that improvements we have made since the last inspection have been fully taken into consideration.

“Our 2013 results were the school’s best ever and a 15 per cent improvement on the previous year.”

She also slammed the document itself, adding: “In my view, the report is also full of inaccuracies and contradictions.”

Ms Mason told the Recorder these included criticism of boys’ progress due to “weak skills in reading and writing”, even though 82pc of boys made three levels’ progress in English (against a national figure of 61pc) in 2012 and 24pc made four levels’ progress (against a national figure of 23pc). The levels are defined by KS2 SATs grades and GCSE grades.

“The report also states attendance figures have not risen sharply enough,” she said, “but in the section about behaviour and safety it states it is ‘good’ because its attendance has improved and its systems and support for parents are applied rigorously.”

She added: “We have taken the unusual step of appealing against Ofsted’s judgement.

“We’d like to reassure parents that we continue to work hard to support all of our pupils to reach their full potential.”

An Ofsted spokesman said the reasons for the school’s rating were outlined in the report.