PUPILS at Isambard Community School can expect more homework after Ofsted raised concerns their teachers were not stretching them.

The education watchdog visited the school in Redhouse Way in late November and, in a report demanding widespread improvements, inspectors said staff were not expecting enough of pupils.

The school said the report showed progress was being made on a journey towards receiving an outstanding grade.

And more homework is among the changes set to be made to teaching.

But as well as noting some improvements, the report said pupils were not being stretched.

It said: “Teachers do not make sufficient use of homework to enable students to consolidate and extend their learning, and to accelerate their progress.

“Teachers do not always have high enough expectations of what students can achieve.

“As a result, they do not consistently give students work that stretches them enough so that they can make as much progress as possible.

“Students’ behaviour requires improvement because, when activities fail to engage or maintain their interest, students can become distracted or distract others from their work.

“Teachers are not all consistent in their application of the school’s rules for behaviour in class.”

Ofsted’s five inspectors found the school required improvement in all areas, other than its leadership and management, which was ranked as ‘good’.

The school is currently led by an acting headteacher, Sue Banks, since Rachel Mattey’s retirement in August.

And Mrs Banks said areas of improvement highlighted by the inspectors were indications of the school’s bid to keep improving.

“The school is on a journey towards outstanding and this report shows that it has already made significant headway into reaching that goal,” she said.

“Inspectors saw, amongst other things, good leadership, outstanding teaching, effective marking and informative use of assessment.

“The focus will now be on ensuring consistency, in terms of teaching and learning, in every classroom.

“The quality of current students’ work shows that achievement is improving significantly.

“Moving forward, the school will be using homework more, as recommended by the inspection team, in order to extend students’ learning and further accelerate their progress.” For more information on the school, log on to www.isambard.swindon.sch.uk.