Isle of Wight School Improvement Partners Handbook

The purpose of this handbook is to provide advice and guidance to School Improvement Partners (SIPs) about their role within the Isle of Wight LA. A strength of the Isle of Wight SIP programme is its development and monitoring in a partnership with Island Headteachers.

The Isle of Wight covers broad rural areas with a small number of urban towns such as Newport, Sandown, Shanklin and Ryde. Currently the Isle of Wight has 46 primary (first) schools, 14 middle schools, 5 high schools, 2 special (primary and secondary) schools and 2 PRUs (primary and secondary). By September 2010 there will be some changes to the number of schools following reorganisation into a primary/secondary model of education.

The Isle of Wight’s Standards have consistently been above average at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. At Key Stage 2 there is a rising trend towards the National Average. At Key Stages 4 and 5 there has been a steady improvement although standards remain below National Averages on a number of measures.