‘Cold spots’ hit Staff crisis after Ofsted report
local economy Continued from page one
residents in two streets had re- ported problems. In Seven Mile Lane the qual-
ity varies significantly, depend- ing on which network people are signed up to, she said. Vodafone customers had fre- quent problems in Butchers Lane. Ms Kirby said: “They have
not experienced any problems in other areas. They also report that the signal dips in and out, frequently cutting them off mid-call and occasionally, when a neighbour sends a text, it can take hours to arrive.” Chairman of Leybourne Parish Council Bob Ulph said there were many problemswith mobile phone signals in the vil- lage about 18 months ago, but he had not heard as many com- plaints recently. David Thornewell, East Malling Parish Council’s chair- man, said he had heard of mo- bile phone problems in East andWest Malling. Chairman of SELEP, John Spence said: “Our research clearly shows that poor or no mobile phone coverage is more than just a mild frustration. It is having a profound impact on businesses’ abilities to fulfil their potential and stimulate the economy through creating jobs.”
PARENTS and children at St Peter’s CE Primary School, Aylesford, were stunned by the departures of a head teacher and five staff members, includ- ing his wife. Families were concerned fol- lowing the sudden absence of Simon Temple (pictured) after seven years as head of the 124- pupil school, which was judged to require improvement by Of- sted, earlier this year. A letter signed by the board of governors informed parents that this was the last term Mr Tem- ple would be teaching year 6, adding “we have recruited to fill this post”. The letter said that Mrs Tem-
ple had resigned, but other teachers had either accepted a promotion or were looking for positions closer to their homes, and that such decisions hap- pened at this time of year. The governors praised Mr
Temple for his extra work teach- ing year 6 during the last three years. They wrote that the vil- lage school’s size was one of its many positives, but “unfortu- nately, when staff decide to leave, it has a larger impact.” The changes came after an Of-
sted inspection in January, when the school was judged to need improvement. After a fol- low-up visit in March, inspector Sheena MacDonald said there
had a difficult relationship with the local authority in the past. However, it is currently work- ing well with a local authority consultant, particularly in de- veloping senior leadership roles.” Since January, the school had
been workingwith an education expert and benefiting through visits to her school. Ms McDonald identified four
areas for action including im- proving monitoring and im- proving the pace of learning. KCC said it would not com-
had been “no major changes since the inspection, which judged the school to require im- provement”. In a letter to Mr Temple, she
said the school’s action plan had not set targets for pupils across the school at interim points during the year. She said: “As a result, it is not clear how, or when, governors and staff will evaluate whether the school is on track to achieve its targets.” The governing body had been altered so it could operate more effectively, but she considered that “the pace of improvement is limited, in part, because sen- ior staff and governors believe theschooltobebetterthanit actually is.” She added: “The school has
ment on speculation surround- ing the change of leadership, but assured parents there was no truth in the rumour that the school might close. Area education officer David Adams said: “We would like to reassure the parents and school community that the council is working closely with the gover- nors at St Peter’s in Aylesford during the head teacher’s ab- sence. Mrs Parkin, the interim head teacher, is an experienced head who will be leading the school for the foreseeable fu- ture, as it is not clear how long Mr Temple will be absent.” He added that everyone in- volved with running the school was pulling together to ensure it was providing a calm and safe environment in which the chil- dren could learn.
Kings Hill Football Club Formed 2003 - K.C.F.A. Affiliated NEW PLAYERS WANTED! Next Season
With nearly 300 players and 24 teams Kings Hill FC are now looking for new players for the season starting in September 2013, playing at our brand new facility at Kings Hill Sports Park.
In particular we are looking for players to join the following teams (all age groups are as of September 2013):
Under 12’s FC – Express Cabs League Under 13’s Colts – Express Cabs League
Under 14’s FC and Colts – Express Cabs League
Under 15’s FC and Under 15’s Colts – Express Cabs League
Under 18’s Colts – Maidstone Minor League
Interested in joining this friendly, growing club? Please get in touch via our website
www.kingshillfc.org
4 Malling You can e-mail the Downs Mail —
info@downsmail.co.uk
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