First School Inspection

Published 19th June 2006, 12:50pm

This was the first inspection of the whole school. It took place from 6th to 9th March 2006 and involved a team of nine inspectors. Most aspects of the school's work were examined, with a focus on students' learning and achievement.

The school, which is owned by the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, has grown significantly in the last ten years, and there are now 707 students on roll, from Kindergarten through to Year 13. Over half the students are Caymanian.

The inspection team found that Cayman Prep and High is "a good school with some outstanding features". The team credited the students' good progress and achievements to the school's distinctive Christian ethos and effective teaching. They judged that the school has moved forward significantly in recent years due to its determined leadership and committed staff. It has responded well to the few issues identified by the inspection of the prep school in 2002. GCSE and A level work have also been introduced successfully into the high school. The report concluded that the school is well placed to continue its good developments, particularly if problems of overcrowding on the sites are resolved.

It should be noted that inspection teams use very specific adjectives to describe the quality of what they see. The most positive evaluation is 'outstanding'; the next is 'good', followed by 'satisfactory'. 'Inadequate' or 'unsatisfactory' are used when the evaluation is that the quality is not satisfactory.

The inspection identified the following areas as strengths of the school:

• — Children get a very good start to their education in the Kindergarten.
• — Staff are highly committed and hard working. Teaching is good.
• — Relationships in the school are very positive and productive.
• — There is a genuine concern for the care and well being of all students.
• — Students behave well and have very good attitudes to work.
• — There are strong and productive links with parents and the community.
• — Students meet a wide range of different experiences and learn to appreciate other cultures as well as their own. Their personal development is outstanding.
• — Students reach high standards in internationally recognised tests and examinations.
• — These are the areas identified as needing to improve:
• — The use of assessment information to ensure that the all students are doing as well as they could, particularly the most able in the prep
• — The links between the prep and high schools, so that students' education is continuous in all subjects.

The school is expected to prepare an action plan, showing how it will address the areas for improvement listed above. The plan will be sent to the Education Department and Schools' Inspectorate within 40 working days of receipt of the final report. The school is also required to provide parents with an annual update on the progress that is being made in addressing these areas for improvement.

The inspection report can be accessed from the Schools' Inspectorate's website: www.italic.ky/lv/inspect/school.nsf