Footsteps primary school in George Town has been rated ‘Good’ by the Office of Education Standards. That is the expected level of quality for Cayman Islands schools, and is the second-highest rating next to ‘Excellent’.
“Footsteps performs well in most major aspects of its work and capacity to improve further is good,” according to the inspection report.
Opened in September 2020, Footsteps earned ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ grades in almost every area of assessment.
The school is located on Eastern Avenue and is led by Emma Kendall and Bryony Platt. Footsteps has 35 students between 4 and 11 years old, with 4 teaching staff and 3 support staff. About 22% of students had been identified as having special education needs.
Footsteps received ‘Excellent’ marks in students’ behaviour, curriculum and links with the community. The school received ‘Good’ marks in students’ progress, teaching, learning, leadership, and staff and the learning environment.
The school was rated ‘Satisfactory’ in terms of students’ attainment in English, Mathematics and Science, as well as assessment.
Footsteps primary school has been rated ‘Good’ by the Office of Education Standards.
Inspectors rate schools in individual categories, using a scale of Weak/Satisfactory/Good/Excellent. The overall grade is determined according to the individual scores.
This was Footsteps’ first inspection.
“Footsteps was judged to be a good school because school leaders fostered an inclusive ethos and sought to develop a true love of learning in all students. The students were passionate about environmental, global, and social issues. They were friendly, articulate, and polite,” according to the report.
“Relationships were excellent amongst the students and adults. The curriculum gave students an interesting and wide range of topics that related well to real life. Parents were able to speak readily to teachers and they received good information about how well their children were achieving.”
Because the school was rated ‘Good’, Footsteps will not be inspected again until the next cycle of inspections starts in January.
An interview with … Peter Carpenter, Director, Office of Education Standards (1 of 2)