School retains ‘good’ rating after inspection
AHIGH school has kept its ‘good’ rating after being visited by government inspectors.
St Cuthbert’s Catholic High School on Shaw Road, Rochdale hosted inspectors from OFSTED in June this year and received the news in a report this month
Following the short inspection, inspectors praised the school for being safe and welcoming and praised headteacher, Mr Shaun Shields, for introducing new ways of monitoring pupil and staff progress.
Inspector Erica Sharman, wrote: “There is no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a result of this inspection.”
“There is a warm and welcoming atmosphere in the school. Staff and pupils smile at those they meet.
“Pupils are polite and friendly, and they are respectful to each other and to adults in the school.
“Following your appointment as headteacher of St Cuthbert’s in September 2018, you have quickly and accurately identified the school’s weaknesses.”
Ms Sharman noted in her report that there were aspects of the school which were priorities for improvement.
The report said: “Teaching is improving. However, there are some teachers who have not improved their practice as quickly as others and where this is the case pupils’ progress is slower.
“As a result, teaching and learning are not consistently good or better across the school.
“Attendance is improving. However, the proportion of pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, that are regularly absent from school remains above the national average.”
Nevertheless, the report continued to praise the school for its policies regarding pupil and staff safety and acknowledged parents’ feelings towards the school.
Ms Sharman said: “Pupils who spoke with inspectors feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe. They know who to talk to in school if they have any worries or concerns. Parents are equally positive about the school. They believe that their children are happy and safe.”
Mr Shields told the Observer: “We are pleased that yet again we have been rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted and the really positive feedback from inspectors is reward for the hard work staff and governors are doing.
“Our self-evaluation had identified the same areas for improvements as Ofsted which demonstrates how parents can be assured that we are performing well and planning to improve areas that require improvement quickly.
“We continue to work hard, monitoring everything we do through our relentless drive on self-improvement to ensure we provide the best education we can for our young people.”