Forest Gate schools’ Ofsted ratings – now and then

We have previously reported on the Ofsted ratings of Forest Gate schools (2015, 2013) This post presents the latest ratings of all of E7’s 18 schools (state, maintained and independent) and highlights some trends – mainly the level or upward trajectory of judgements and the increased academisation and bringing into trusts of some of the previously stand alone schools.

After a simple statement of the Ofsted record of each of the local schools over the last decade and a half we present a brief summary of trends in local schools.

There are a total of 18 schools located within the E7 post code: eight state primaries, one Roman Catholic primary, one Church of England primary, and three independent (Moslem-based) primaries. There are two state secondaries, two Roman Catholic secondary and one independent (Moslem-based) secondary. The Ofsted judgements on each are as follows:

State primary

Earlham Primary – Earlham Grove

Was a stand alone primary school until 2017, when it converted to becoming a member of the EKO Trust, which embraces three other primary schools in Newham, together with schools in Hackney, Dagenham and Ipswich.

Latest rating: Outstanding (July 2023).

Previous rating, as an academy: December 2019: Good.

Previous ratings as a stand alone primary: October 2013: Good. October 2008: Good. 

Elmhurst Primary – Upton Park Road

Was a stand alone primary school until March 2018, when it became part of the New Vision Trust, along with four other schools in Newham and Ilford.

Latest rating: Outstanding (November 2021).

Previous ratings (as a stand alone school): July 2010: Outstanding. October 2006: Outstanding.

Godwin Junior – Cranmer Road

Latest rating: Good (January 2024).

Previous ratings: November 2023: Good. May 2018: Good. June 2014: Good. May 2009: Good. June 2006: Outstanding.

Odessa Infants – Wellington Road

Latest rating: Good (May 2020).

Previous ratings: March 2020: Good. May 2016: Good. October 2013: Requires improvement. December 2008: Good. November 2005: Good. 

Sandringham Primary – Sandringham Road

Latest rating: Outstanding (November 2023).

Previous ratings: May 2017: Outstanding. July 2013: Good. April 2010: Good. May 2007: Good. 

Shaftesbury Primary – Shaftesbury Road

Was a stand alone primary school until April 2018, when it became part of the Boleyn Trust, joining up with seven other Newham primary schools.

Latest rating: Outstanding (November 2021).

Previous ratings (all as a stand alone school): March 2016: Outstanding. October 2013: Requires improvement. January 2012: Satisfactory. May 2009: Satisfactory. June 2006: Good.

William Davies Primary school – Stafford Road

Latest rating: Good (December 2021).

Previous ratings: November 2016: Good. March 2012: Good. May 2009: Good. July 2006: Good.

Woodgrange Infants – Sebert Road

Latest rating: Good (December 2019).

Previous ratings: January 2016: Good. April 2014: Good. May 2011, Good. June 2008: Good

 RC primary

St Antony’s RC Primary – Upton Avenue

Was a stand alone RC primary school until September 2020, when it became part of the Our Lady of Grace Catholic Academy Trust, where it is joined with five other Newham RC primary schools.

Latest rating (as part of the Trust): Outstanding (July 2023).

Previous ratings (all as stand alone school). Januray 2018: Good. February 2013: Good. September 2009: Satisfactory. February 2007: Satisfactory.

 CofE primary

St James CofE Primary – Tower Hamlets Road

Latest rating: Good (March 2023).

Previous ratings: June 2017: Good. January 2013: Good. June 2010: Satisfactory. June 2008: Satisfactory. February 2007: Inadequate. 

 Independent primary

Madaniyah Foundation (independent Muslim  primary school) – Stafford Road

Latest rating: Good (May 2023).

Previous ratings: November 2018: Good. September 2016: Inadequate. March 2012: Satisfactory. January 2009: Satisfactory.

Quwwat Ul Islam Girls School (independent, 4-16 years) – Chaucer Road

Latest rating: June 2022, Requires improvement.

Previous ratings: June 2022: Requires improvement. February 2020: Inadequate. April 2018: Good. January 2014: Good. September 2010: Good. November 2007: Good.

Zakariya Primary (independent primary) – 447-451 Romford Road

Latest rating: Inadequate (November 2023).

Previous ratings: March 2023: Inadequate. May 2021: Requires improvement. February 2019: Inadequate. July 2017: Inadequate. 

 State secondary

Forest Gate Community School – Forest Lane

Was a stand alone school until October 2016, when it was established as part of a Community Schools Trust, where it is currently grouped with Cumberland Community School in Newham, three schools and academies in Hackney and a Technical College in Norfolk.

Latest rating: Outstanding (February 2022).

Previous ratings (as a part of Trust): December 2021: Outstanding.

Previous ratings (as a stand alone school): February 2016: Outstanding. December 2013: Requires Improvement. September 2009: Good. October 2006: Good.

Stratford School Academy (secondary) – Upton Lane

Until February 2012 known as Stratford School. Since that time it has been converted to Stratford School Academy. It is not part of a larger trust.

Latest rating: Good (October 2022).

Previous ratings: May 2017: Good. March 2014: Good. March 2011: Good. April 2008: Good.

 RC secondary

St Angela’s Ursuline School (secondary) – St George’s Road

Latest rating: Outstanding (December 2022).

Previous ratings: November 2022: Outstanding. March 2009: Outstanding. 

December 2005: Outstanding.

St Bonaventures (RC boys secondary) – Boleyn Road

Latest rating: Outstanding (November 2022).

Previous ratings: March 2009: Outstanding. February 2006: Outstanding.

 Indpendent secondary

Azhar Academy Girls School (independent secondary) Romford Road

Latest rating: Outstanding (July 2023).

Previous ratings: March 2022: Outsanding. March 2018 Good. March 2016: Good. February 2014: Good. October 2010: Satisfactory. November 2007: Satisfactory. 

 Trends in judgements over the last decade

Currently, three of the eight state primary schools are rated “outstanding”, along with the sole Roman Catholic primary, St Antony’s. The only Church of England primary, St James’, joins the other five state primaries in holding a judgement of being “Good”.

There is a more mixed, and lower, judgement generally on the three independent (Moslem) primaries: one is judged “Good”, another “Requires improvement” and the third (which is currently facing a considerable redevelopment) is rated “Inadequate”.

Four of Forest Gate’s five secondaries are currently rated “Outstanding” and the fifth – Stratford – is rated “Good”.

Overall, Forest Gate’s 18 schools have been on a level, or upward trajectory over the last decade or so, as far as Ofsted judgements are concerned.

Over that period a third (six) have improved their Ofsted judgement and the remaining two thirds(12) have maintained theirs. No local school has slipped backwards in terms of the judgements from where they were then.

The only two of 18 Forest Gate schools with a poorer than “Good” rating are two of the three fee-paying Islamic primary schools. The fees for those are: Quwwat Ul Islam (fees £3,025 - £3,335 p.a,) – currently “Requires improvement” and Zakariya (fees £2,880 p.a.) – currently “Inadequate”.

Academisation

Four (Earlham, Elmhurst, Shaftesbury and St Antony’s) of the 10 state and maintained primary schools have entered an academy chain over the last six or so years. Three of them have improved their Ofsted grading from “Good” to “Outstanding” over that period.

One of the two state secondary schools (Forest Gate Community) has joined an academy trust over the period, its Ofsted judgement (“Outstanding”) has remained unaltered.

The ups and downs of Forest Gate schools' Ofsted judgements

Ofsted has produced its annual report this week, summarising the findings of its 5,000 school inspections, nation-wide, over the last year (here). This brief blog summarises the inspectorate's findings and judgments of Forest Gate's mainstream state-funded schools, based on its latest assessment of them.

None of the local schools, in fact, would appear to have had a full inspection over the last year. What follows is their current status, together with the date of their most recent inspection and a brief comment on the ups or downs in judgement ratings.

Gone are the days when Newham's main concern on the publication of national schools league tables, was whether the borough was able to climb out of the bottom half dozen of all local authority providers or not. 

Newham's performance, according to the latest Ofsted report, put the borough's secondary schools at 25th place, out of the 147 English local authorities. Primary performance was not quite as good, coming in at ranking 99th place.

Forest Gate schools performance, applying the Ofsted criteria, would have placed the area at 31st place in the national primary league table (out of 147). 

In the secondary table, the ranking would have been 99th (out of 147). If Forest Gate Community school were able to push its rating of grade 3 ("Requires improvement"), up a single grade to 2 ("Good"), Forest Gate secondaries would have come in at joint first place in the country. Not much pressure on FGCS there, then!

The schools, with their most recent Ofsted judgment are are listed in alphabetical order.

Secondary schools

Forest Gate Community school - overall assessment 3 - Requires improvement

The school had its last full inspection in December 2013, when it dropped a grade from "Good" to "Requires improvement".

Forest Gate Community school:
 Requires improvement

St Angela's Ursuline school - overall assessment 1 - Outstanding

The school had its last full inspection in 2005, when it achieved "Outstanding" status.  A light touch interim inspection in 2009 confirmed this judgement.

St Angela's: Outstanding

St Bonaventures - overall assessment 1 - Outstanding

The last full inspection took place in 2009, when the "Outstanding" rating was secured.

St Bonaventures: Outstanding

Stratford school - overall assessment 2 - Good

The "Good" rating was achieved in the March 2014 inspection.

Primary schools

Earlham Primary school - overall assessment 2 - Good

The last full inspection, awarding a "Good" status, took place in November 2013.

Elmhurst Primary school - overall assessment 1 - Outstanding

Elmhurst achieved an "Outstanding" status at its last full inspection, in 2010.

Elmhurst: Outstanding

Godwin Junior school - overall assessment 2 - Good

Godwin was last inspected in June 2014, when it was judged to be a "Good" school.

Odessa Infant school - overall assessment 3 - Requires improvement

Odessa slipped from "Good", awarded in 2006, to "Requires improvement" at the time of its last full inspection, in October 2013.

Odessa: Requires improvement

Sandringham Primary school - overall assessment 2 - Good

Sandringham was judged to be "Good" in its last, July 2013, inspection.

Sandringham: Good

St Antony's RC Primary school - overall assessment 2 - Good

St Antony's improved from "Requires improvement" to "Good" at the time of its most recent inspection, in February 2013.

St James C of E Primary school - overall assessment 2 - Good

St James' improved from a 2010 judgement of "Requires improvement" in 2010 to one of "Good" during its last, February 2013, inspection.

William Davies school - overall assessment 2 - Good

William Davies was judged to be a "Good" school in its latest inspection report, April 2012.

William Davies: Good

Woodgrange Infant school - overall assessment 2 - Good

Woodgrange's last inspection was in May 2014, when it was acknowledged to be a "Good" school.

Woodgrange infants: Good

In summary, three of Forest Gate's secondary schools, when last inspected, were judged to be "Good" or "Outstanding", the fourth, Forest Gate Community school "Requires improvement"

In the primary sector, all except two have been judged to be "Good" schools, the exceptions being the "Outstanding" Earlham Primary school, and Odessa Infants school, which "Requires improvement"
.
The full, current, report on each of the schools mentioned can be accessed here. 

Previous articles on this blog on Ofsted reports on local schools can be accessed here, here and here.

St Antony's tops Forest Gate junior school 2014 league table

Ofsted has recently published its national junior/primary school league tables. Wearing our ever-parochial hat, we thought we'd publish a Forest Gate extract from them. The Ofsted results cover seven E7 junior schools and they show the performance of 11 year-olds who took the National Curriculum tests this year.

St Antony's - top of local mini-league

They are good.

Column 1 shows the percentage of students who met or exceeded the government's level 4 score in reading.

Column 2 shows the percentage of students who met or exceeded the government's level 4 score in writing.

Column 3 shows the percentage of students who met or exceeded the government's level 4 score in maths.

Column 4 shows the percentage of students who met or exceeded the government's level 4 score in all three subjects.

Column 5 shows the "Value Added" by the school to the relevant cohort of pupils. 


Elmhurst - second in local league table

A score of 100 indicates that the school obtained the results it would have been expected to, given the previous attainments levels of relevant students. A score lower than 100 suggests that the students fared less well than would have been expected; and a score in excess of 100 suggests the school added more "value" than could have been anticipated from the relevant students.

The schools are listed in order of "Value Added", as this would seem to measure the effectiveness of the school rather than its pupils.

To put local results into context: nationally, 79% pupils reached Level 4 in all three assessed subjects (all local schools bettered this, locally). 82% of London pupils reached Level 4 in all assessed subjects (all bar William Davies bettered this, locally).

Sandringham - bang on average, locally,
with slightly better than expected performance

Schools are regarded as "failing" if fewer than 65% pupils hit the Level 4 in all three subjects level. Last year that "failure borderline" was 60%; next year it will be 85%. No local schools come anywhere near even the higher target figure, set for next year.

In summary: St Antony's not only provided the "best" results, but added the most "Value". Only St James', locally did not add more "Value" than could have been expected - and only by a fraction of a percentage. There was little to choose between Forest Gate's other five junior schools, in terms of "Value Added".

St Antony's read: 100, write: 93, maths: 100, all: 93, value added: 103.0

Elmhurst
read: 94, write: 94, maths: 98, all: 92, value added: 101.8

William Davies
read: 87, write: 97, maths: 83, all: 80, value added: 100.5

Sandringham
read: 88, write: 91, maths: 92, all: 82, value added: 100.4

Earlham Grove
read: 93, write: 95, maths: 88, all: 85, value added: 101.1

Godwin
read: 91, write: 86, maths: 94, all: 83, value added: 101.0

St James'
read: 90, write: 90, maths: 88, all: 83, value added: 99.6



St James' - bottom of local mini league,
with results slightly below expectation