‘Struggling’ school is now top of the class
JUST under five years ago Kentmere primary school was among the worst in Greater Manchester.
Placed in special measures after a damning Ofsted report, the Rochdale school faced an uncertain future.
Fast forward to 2018 and the transformation has been remarkable.
Now rated ‘outstanding’ after an inspection earlier this year, the Department for Education says it’s one of the best 1,000 primaries in the country.
It’s been quite the turnaround, but it’s the result of a lot of hard work.
Headteacher Sarah Isberg joined the Smallbridge school in November 2013, two months after the Ofsted inspection.
She was given the daunting task of arresting the slide and transforming the school’s fortunes.
It was her fourth headship, having previously been in charge at schools in Shropshire and London, but easily her biggest challenge.
“The school was in special measures, it was struggling to be honest,” she said.
“The children weren’t getting the education they deserved, that was the biggest thing for me. Every child deserves the best quality education and they weren’t getting that.”
Kentmere’s September 2013 Ofsted report makes for sobering reading.
Standards of teaching were said to be ‘inadequate,’ maths teachers’ subject knowledge was ‘weak’ and pupils’ work was not being ‘marked accurately.’
But perhaps most damning of all was the fact that in one of the most deprived areas of Rochdale, six out of 10 children weren’t reaching the national standards for reading and more than one in two weren’t for maths.
Now it’s hard to see how Ofsted could be more fulsome in their praise.
A ‘culture of excellence lies at the heart’ of Kentmere, which is now an academy.
The school runs like a ‘well-oiled machine’ and teaching is now outstanding across the board with maths a ‘particular strength,’ the latest inspection report says.
Inspectors found ‘no time is wasted’ in lessons and ‘no child is left behind.’
And Mrs Isberg was also singled out for praise, with Ofsted describing her impact as ‘transformational.’
She says the change has come about due to a ‘relentless’ drive for improvement and an overhaul of the curriculum.
The school now uses the ‘Singapore’ style of maths teaching.
It means an intensive focus on any child who is struggling to ensure no pupil gets left behind.