AN ISLE of Wight primary school is making a formal complaint to Ofsted after getting a 'requires improvement' grading.

Oakfield CE Primary School in Ryde was previously graded 'good', but the executive headteacher and chair of governors have both expressed disappointment with the recent inspection report, which they claim is full of contradictions.

In a statement, the school explained Oakfield was one of the first schools to be inspected under a new system where the inspectors do a desktop analysis of data before making an inspection.

The school found this focus on historical data, rather than progress, to be contradictory.

Oakfield was assessed as requiring improvement, which the school felt ignored the fact it had a much higher than average number of pupils with special needs and starting points well below age expectations.

The SATS results for pupils leaving in the summer of 2017 showed Oakfield achieved well above average scores in reading and average in maths, the school said.&am p;lt;/p>

Outcomes in writing were more variable, however the school said it could show good individual progress here too.

The school stated governors challenged the senior inspector about what constituted acceptable progress but the only answer given was that, whatever their starting points, pupils should reach national age expected levels by Key Stages 1 and 2, which the school felt was ignoring Ofsted's directive.

Executive headteacher Laura Bosworth said: "Within the first ten minutes the inspection team stated outcome data indicated a school that required improvement and they would find it difficult to give any different assessment.

"The whole process appeared to be focused on finding evidence that supported that judgement and ignoring evidence that proved otherwise. As a result we have ended up with a report that is full of contradictions."

An Ofsted spokesperson said: "Ofsted does not confirm or comment on any complaints we receive. That said, we take all concerns seriously and consider them as quickly as possible."