Black Country's first free school told to improve by Ofsted

Nishkam Primary School in Great Brickkiln Street, Wolverhampton, was given the second lowest rating of 'requires improvement' following the inspection in June.

A report released this week criticised teaching and learning at the school, which was shrouded in controversy when it opened as Anand Primary in September 2013 due to low pupil numbers. Within nine months, the headteacher had quit and the school's governing body had stepped aside to be replaced by Birmingham group, The Nishkam Trust.

During the inspection, lead inspector Stuart Bellworthy said that some maths work was incorrectly marked, while the most able pupils were not always progressing as they should.

"The quality of teaching is too variable in the school," the report said. "Teaching does not always meet the needs of all learners. As a result, progress in some lessons is not as good as it could be.

"Pupils' progress in Year One slows down particularly in writing and mathematics."

Leadership and management were also criticised by inspectors, with senior leaders said to have an 'overly optimistic' view of the quality of teaching and achievement.

The report continued: "Leaders and managers have not taken effective action to improve teaching in Year One.

"Leaders' checks of pupils' work in books have not sufficiently identified weaknesses in teachers' planning, teaching and pupils' progress."

External consultants and an advisor from the Department for Education were said to have been 'overly generous' in their assessments of the school, failing to identify a number of weaknesses.

Inspectors praised the behaviour and safety of pupils, noting that lessons were rarely disrupted for poor behaviour and that pupils 'enjoy coming to school'.

Nishkam Primary has 57 pupils on roll and operates under a Sikh ethos, but accepts pupils from all faiths or none

It currently only caters for reception and Year One pupils.

Headteacher Harmander Singh Dhanjal said that despite the Ofsted rating he felt the school was taking 'very strong' steps forward.

"Had we been given more time for embedding as in other new schools we would have been very confident of being even further along the line," he said.

"It is important to note that Ofsted did congratulate us on many aspects of the school.

"We have a comprehensive plan already in place to address the points raised by Ofsted. I am utterly confident that by the next inspection in the next 12-24 months, the school will be well on the road to excellence."

Earlier this year a new DfE funded £1.6 million eight-classroom extension opened at the school.