A school which was told it needed to improve by Ofsted has set about making “a raft of improvements” since the report.
Hogarth Primary School, in Riseway, Brentwood was inspected in February when it was highlighted that changes in the school’s leadership since December 2021 had affected its performance.
The report said: “Leadership has not been consistent in most curricular areas or in early years.
“This means that teachers are only just beginning to receive the training they need to engage pupils in lessons effectively or identify gaps in learning well enough.”
The school, it added, did not have a procedure in place to identify and support pupils who had fallen behind in their reading, among other issues.
But the school has since joined Discovery Educational Trust and welcomed a new leader - Rob Watson - in order to turn it around.
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In addition 80 per cent of its staff – including the whole office team - were replaced and the new members are said to “bring with them a wealth of experience”, according to a spokeswoman for the school.
Measures introduced by the new team include providing more opportunities for families to engage with the school through sessions for phonics, maths and early years.
A “teddy bear picnic” for early years and regular coffee mornings for parents of children with Special Educational Needs to meet specialists are also being organised.
The spokeswoman said an outcome of these changes was evident in their recent achievements on the sporting front.
She added: “Despite Hogarth pupils having never competed against other schools in sport before, the boys football team finish third place at the Shenfield Cup football competition and the girls football team – the first the school has had - has competed against Brentwood Prep School recently.”
Mr Watson, who had also previously worked in schools across Havering, said they have been able to start from a completely fresh slate with everyone being on the same page.
When people visit the school they get a full tour, he said, with far more parental engagement that was not happening before.
He added: “We have an open-door policy now. We are building our relationship with local residents, which is really positive.
“Our parents are noticing the school is changing. Things are calmer, the learning attitude among children is very much improved and we have a consistent curriculum.
“The potential of this school is amazing. We are already on an upward trajectory towards an Ofsted grading of 'good'."
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