Education inspectors claimed that the two learning assistants were “setting a bad example” and “limiting the progress” of pupils at the Trosnant Junior School in Havant, Hants.

The school was served with a “notice to improve” and a local education authority English teacher is due to visit the school at a future teaching training day.

The Ofsted report into the school read: “Adults do not always demonstrate grammatical accuracy in speaking and writing. This sets a bad example and limits pupils’ progress.”

Jim Hartley, the school’s head teacher, admitted that there was a problem with “Pompey” slang amongst some teaching staff and that they would be taught how to speak “Queen’s English”.

He said the problem was on a par with other mistakes such as bad spelling “that you would expect teachers to correct”.

“The inspectors said it was the heavy accent, but it was the grammar as well. I don’t think they would have picked up on it if it was just a matter of the accent,” he said.

“This is not denigrating the Pompey accent or dialect – we are all proud of where we come from. I accept however that bad grammar is not acceptable in the classroom which is why we have taken the inspectors’ criticisms constructively.

“We will be bringing in a consultant to work with two of our learning assistants to enable them to use the Queen’s English in the classroom.”

“As a head teacher I need to ensure our children can read and write correctly where needs be. That doesn’t mean to say that we don’t enjoy regional accents. But I welcome Ofsted’s verdict because it has pointed the problem out to us and allowed us to address it and listen more closely to our own accents.”

An Ofsted spokeswoman said: “As part of an Ofsted school inspection, inspectors evaluate the quality of teaching.

“They take into account regional accents and dialects but would expect all those involved in teaching to have a good grasp of grammar both orally and in writing.”
--By Peter Hutchison,03 Oct 2010