Sir John A Cumber Primary School has been rated as ‘Satisfactory’ by the Office of Education Standards.
With an enrolment of 505 students, the West Bay school is the largest government primary school in the Cayman Islands.
According to the report, about 30% of the students have special education needs. The school has 60 teachers and 27 teaching assistants.
“Whilst the majority of aspects of Sir John A. Cumber Primary were satisfactory, standards in students’ attainment in English, mathematics were weak. Senior leaders were aware of aspects of the school requiring improvement and were taking the steps necessary to address them,” according to the inspection report.
The school was rated as ‘Weak’ in relation to students’ attainment in English, mathematics and science — according to students’ achievements on assessments, compared to national and international standards.
However, the school received ‘Satisfactory’ grades for progress in English, mathematics and science — in terms of how much improvement the students are demonstrating.
The school received ‘Satisfactory’ ratings in every other area of assessment, including student behaviour, teaching, leadership and links with the community.
Inspectors rate schools in individual categories, using a scale of Weak/Satisfactory/Good/Excellent. The overall grade is determined according to the individual scores.
The ‘Satisfactory’ rating represents the minimum level of quality required for Cayman schools, and the grade is an improvement over the ‘Unsatisfactory’ grade the school received during its last full inspection in November 2014. Between then and October 2019, the school went through three follow-up inspections; during the final follow-up visit, inspectors found the school’s overall progress to be satisfactory.
According to the report, “Although the school is judged to be providing overall a satisfactory quality of education, there will be a follow-through inspection within six to eight months to evaluate progress against the areas for improvement indicated in this report.”
Inspectors noted that Principal Jovanna Wright has been in the position since August 2019.
“The relatively new Principal has been successful in bringing about improvements in behaviour. Leaders’ scrutiny of students’ work showed that standards were beginning to rise. All leaders shared the Principal’s vision for the future and staff showed a commitment to the ethos of the school,” according to the report.
An interview with … Peter Carpenter, Director, Office of Education Standards (1 of 2)