Eastlea Community School requires improvement, Ofsted inspectors find

Stephen Gillatt is the new headteacher at Eastlea Community School (Image: Tom Barnes)

Inspectors found pupils were “not making the progress expected for their age” when they visited shortly before the Pretoria Road, Canning Town school broke up for the summer holidays.

In the report, published this week, they found that there were inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and improvement plans for pupils were not focused enough.

It also criticised leadership at the school, stating it had led to “complacency and an acceptance of pupils’ poor progress”.

The inspection took place during the last days of Chinye Jibunoh’s tenure as headteacher.

Stephen Gillatt, who took over earlier this month, said of the report: “As this inspection occurred before I took up my post, I was unable to have any influence over the way the inspection was prepared for or handled.

“A requires omprovement represents a further challenge for the school but is not one I am unfamiliar with.

“As senior deputy headteacher at Forest Gate Community, I was part of the team that led it from requires improvement to outstanding in just eighteen months.”

He added: “When I was offered this job, I made it clear I would make this school among the very best in the country – I remain unwavering in that belief.

“If that seems overly ambitious, or perhaps even unrealistic, look at what we were able to achieve at my previous school.

“We challenged our students to believe that there was nothing that they could not achieve, that anything for them was possible. We will do the same at Eastlea.”

Eastlea was found to have a number of strengths, including the good behaviour of pupils and the quality of its careers education.

Inspectors also stated: “The promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school.”

The school, which was rated as good in its previous inspection in March 2014, has been advised in the report that it needs to improve its effectiveness of leadership and management, as well as the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.