downsmail.co.uk
Education | News
Trust is to run Swadelands
THE Valley Invicta Academies Trust (VIAT) is set to take over struggling Swadelands School. VIAT chief Dr Phil Limbert con- firmed the regional schools’ com- missioner has requested theLenham non-selective school becomes part of the trust which includes Invicta Grammar School (IGS) and Valley Park. Swadelands was put into special measures in February, after being given the lowest possible Ofsted rat- ing.
Dr Limbert said: “The regional schools’ commissioner has asked that VIAT takes Swadelands School through to become a sponsored academy under the trust.” He said parents had been in- formed. Parents of IGS pupils were told:
“Our academy status and outstand- ing Ofsted achievements have high- lighted the excellent practice at Invicta. “As a result,Valley Invicta Acade-
mies Trust (VIAT) has been asked to sponsor Swadelands School in Lenham. “This is another exciting opportu-
nity for the students and parents of Maidstone...I look forward to in- forming you of our developments in building VIAT into a successful es- tablished Multi Academy Trust (MAT).” An interim executive head and
head teacher have been appointed at the 650-pupil mixed school. Ofsted carried out an inspection in
Unit 10, The Corn Exchange, Market Buildings, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1HP
December 2015 and Swadelands was deemed “inadequate” in four of the five key categories: teaching quality; leadership; personal devel- opment and pupil outcomes. Inade- quate is the lowest rating on the Ofsted scale. Study programmes for 16- to 19-
year-olds require improvement, ac- cording to the Ofsted inspectors. In a letter to parents in February,
the Swadelands management said: “The key finding of the report is that Swadelands School was judged in- adequate and requires special meas- ures to enable it to provide an improved standard of education.” The Ofsted report said that at the
time of inspection, Swadelands’ teaching did not motivate pupils and expectations were low, even among its brightest students. Attendance was below average
and the leadership had “not ensured that assessments of pupils’ work and progress are accurate”. Low-level disruptive behaviour
was common and led to lessons being disturbed. The current Swadelands manage- ment declined to comment.
More pressure for places
THE number of youngsters needing a place at primary schools in the area has leapt for the ninth consec- utive year. But, while applications for places
in Kent rose by 591 to 18,006, the county council says 15,705were of- fered their first choice of school – up 762 on last year. Roger Gough, the council’s cabi-
net member for education, ac- knowledges that local authorities across England face significant challenges because of a lack of pri- mary school places. However, he said: “In Kent, the combination of careful planning and close working with schools means we are able to sustain a high proportion of chil- dren starting at a school of their preference.We also continue to see improvements in the quality of Kent primary schools with 86.4% rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted.” He went on: “Unfortunately, a small minority of pupils have not
been given a school of their prefer- ence and I would like to reassure parents that a specialist KCC team is on hand to help.” In February last year, it was an- nounced KCC would receive an extra £92m to help address de- mand for extra school places until 2018. The funding from the Depart-
ment for Education is in addition to £27m already allocated for the 2015-17 period. The cash boost was announced
after the county experienced a “sig- nificant increase" in the demand for primary school places. An esti- mated 15,000 extra primary school places will be needed by 2020. New primary schools are being
built across Kent, including the Lan- gley Park school. For details of how to appeal go to
www.kent.gov.uk/primaryadmis- sions or call the admissions team on 0300 412121.
INDIAN T A KEA W A Y
Order through our new website
www.zerandelivery.co.uk FREE DELIVERY
Minimum order £12, within a 5 mile radius.
t: 01622 663205 t: 01622 661677
Open 7 days a week from 5pm - 11pm
58 Lower Stone Street, Maidstone ME15 6LX
Maidstone Town June 2016 5 f
www.Facebook.com/dlishiousmaidstone
20%OFF your next visit with
*
*Terms & conditions apply Expires 25/7/16
this voucher
DISCOUNT 15%
ON COLLECTED CASH ORDERS OVER £15
DOWNLOAD ZERAN APP
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48