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Published: 4 March 2010
by JOSIE HINTON

PARENTS have said they are “disappointed” but “not surprised” that standards at a Camden Town primary school sank so low it was placed in “special measures” following a damning report from inspectors.

Our Lady’s Roman Catholic Primary School, in Pratt Street, has been criticised for “failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education” by Ofsted, which visited in November last year.

The 170-pupil school was rated in the “good” category in 2006 – when it was described as a “happy and secure place where pupils thrive”. But inspectors who visited last year found standards had “declined significantly” and the school fell into the “inadequate” category.

Parents were not informed of Ofsted’s findings until just before the report went public three months later.

Camden Council and the Diocese of Westminster have since appointed a new “executive headteacher”, Juliette Jackson – also headteacher at St Eugene de Mazenod in Kilburn – to work alongside existing head Karen Doherty.

The governing body was given an overhaul – again without parents being informed – under  a new chairwoman, ­Margaret Harvey, who formerly headed the governors at St Patrick’s Primary School in Kentish Town.

An Ofsted inspector will now visit the school each term to check on its progress.

When the New Journal spoke to parents at the school gates, a 47-year-old mother described the report as “horrible”, but said she was not surprised at its findings.

“I knew things were bad because my daughter’s friends at other schools were being set a lot more homework than she was,” she said. “There was also a very high turnover of staff. Up until the beginning of this year I was considering changing my daughter’s school but now hopefully things will improve.

“For the first time they are having PTA meetings, and hopefully they will give some more power to parents.”
Another parent said she was “not exactly shocked” by the findings, but added: “Things seem to be getting better. Last year was a real low point but hopefully things are on the way up.”

The report blamed the school’s rapid deterioration on “a period of considerable turbulence, with changes in leadership, structural setbacks with premises and difficulties in recruiting and retaining teaching staff in key posts”.

Inspectors found evidence of poor leadership from senior management, who they found held “an unrealistic view of teaching and learning”.

The governing body was criticised for failing to meet regularly and not having a clear understanding of its role. Inspectors noted that governors had not met since January 2008 – almost two years earlier.

The school was praised for its care, guidance and support of pupils, and Early Years Foundation teaching was deemed to be “good”. But inspectors found that poor teaching higher up the school meant pupils did not make adequate progress.

Councillor Andrew Mennear, Camden’s Conservative education chief, said: “We have to accept the conclusions of the report and that’s what we’ve started doing. We were informed of the report’s conclusions at the back end of last year, and, while disappointing, it is something we have to get right. There is definitely work to be done, but we have begun to put measures in place.”

Asked why parents were not informed sooner, he added: “Obviously, parents have a right to know what is being said about the school. But I think it’s more reassuring for them to know when there are already measures in place to address the issues.”

Mrs Jackson, the new executive headteacher, refused to discuss the school’s plan for improvement. But she said in a statement: “Changing and improving practice quickly is a demanding task but I am confident all here at Our Lady’s are determined to meet the challenge. We look forward to Ofsted returning and seeing not only all their concerns addressed but a school working towards being a very good school.”

The last Camden school to be placed in special measures was St Mary and St Pancras in Somers Town in 2003. It was rated “good” in 2007.