ParkWay school is ordered to improve
CHILDREN at ParkWay Primary School are falling short of the re- quired standard in English, de- spite progress being made towards Key Stage 2 targets. This is the verdict of Ofsted inspectors following an assess- ment of the primary school. They observed 19 lessons, as
well as the breakfast club and a coffee morning for parents and carers, and awarded the school a grade 3 – requires improvement. Pupils’ reading ability was highlighted as a key area of con- cern, with the majority of six- year-olds falling behind national standards in phonics. But inspectors praised the school for the good progress made by children with special needs and for the behaviour of all pupils. Their report stated: “Behaviour is good and has im-
proved in recent years. Pupils, known and valued as individu- als, enjoy school, and their fam- ilies are confident that they are happy and feel safe.” Good teaching was also high- lighted in the Early Years Foun- dation stage, leading to pupils achieving well across the cur- riculum. However, inspectors said: “Teaching is not yet con- sistently good in all year groups because the pace of lessons and the setting of work that stretches more able pupils are not consistently strong.” Leadership and management
were deemed to be strong and an effective plan to improve teaching and pupil attainment was in place. A KCC spokesman had not re- sponded to our enquiry as Downs Mail went to press.
Ovarian cancer campaign
MACMILLAN nurses manned an information table in the reception area of Maidstone Hospital to raise awareness of ovarian cancer. Gaynor Ferguson, Keli Willard and Vickie Gadd (pic- tured), of the gynae-oncology nurse specialist team, spoke to visitors to the hospital and gave out leaflets to people who wanted to know more about the disease. Vickie said: “It’s really im-
portant tomake sure people knowwhat the symptoms are, so they seek medical advice at the earli- est opportunity.” Formore information about the support group, call 01622 226375.
Flower power VOLUNTEERS from Valley Conservation Society helped clear an open space in Wood- bridge Drive, Tovil. Organised by Dave Fleck and Dennis Usmar, from the society, and Tony Morris from Maid- stone Council, the work party cleared stones from the base of a rock face and prepared the ground for later re-seeding with grass and wild flowers. Mr Usmar said: “Eleven peo-
ple from the VCS, Maidstone Council, Tovil Residents’ Asso- ciation and local residents turned out on a bitterly cold day to clear the area. The work party was very grateful to the local residents for cups of tea and sandwiches.”
Santander branches IN last month’s Downs Mail we reported that Santander was due to close its property in King Street, Maidstone. In fact, this branch was closed last year, leaving the town with branches in Week Street and High Street. A San- tander spokeswoman said the company had no plans to close these two branches.
Moorings plan THE Environment Agency has applied to construct 50m of riverbank moorings at Allington Lock, Castle Road, Allington. A statement said: “The river-
bank along this section is suffi- ciently stable. We have taken a sympathetic approach to the design for this mooring.”
‘Skimming’ scam at cash points POLICE have warned people to be on their guard when using cash point machines, after two reports of bank card “skimming devices” on cash machines in Maidstone. Kent Police removed a suspicious device from a cash machine
in Hermitage Lane,Maidstone, and received a second report of a similar device on a cash machine in Farleigh Hill, Tovil. Inspector Jerry Prodger said: “Anyone who sees a suspicious device on a cash machine should notify the bank and contact us immediately.” Police advised cash machine users to check around the insert slot to ensure a false front has not been stuck on to themachine.
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