George Town Primary School has been rated as ‘Satisfactory’ by the Office of Education Standards. That is the minimum level of quality required for Cayman Islands schools.
Inspectors praised the performance of Principal Sharon Campbell-Danvers and school leadership, and they said school improvement was ‘noticeable’ since the last inspection. However, assessments show that students’ performance remains ‘Weak’ in English, mathematics and science, compared to national and international standards.
“The leadership team of principal and deputy have been together for a relatively short time and have become an effective and complementary partnership focussed on developing every students’ knowledge and understanding to help them be the best they can be,” according to the inspection report.
George Town Primary has an enrolment of 278 students. About half of those students have special education needs and/or disabilities. Seven students speak English as their second language.
The school has 19 teachers and 13 support staff.
The school received ‘Satisfactory’ ratings in most areas of assessment, including students’ progress, behaviour and teaching.
The school received ‘Good’ ratings in six areas, including students’ civic and environmental understanding, assessment of students, support and guidance, school leadership, staff self-evaluation and improvement planning, and links with parents and 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 December 2014.
“The overall performance of George Town Primary School was judged to be satisfactory overall. Senior staff are aware of the aspects of the work of the school requiring improvement and they understand what is necessary to address them,” according to the report.
“The senior leaders and staff had worked diligently to address the previous weaknesses in the school. The recommendations from the previous inspection had been addressed well and improvement was noticeable.”
Because George Town Primary received an overall ‘Satisfactory’ grade, it will not be subject to follow-through inspections. It will be inspected again during the next cycle of inspections, beginning in January 2021.
An interview with … Peter Carpenter, Director, Office of Education Standards (1 of 2)