‘Inadequate’ school has ‘lost its way’

AFAILING school has ‘lost its way,’ plummeting from an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted grade to being deemed ‘inadequate.’

St Elisabeth’s Church of England School in Reddish, Stockport, was criticised by the education watchdog following an inspection in November.

A report published this month revealed a catalogue of failures at the school, including ‘ineffective’ teaching. Weak leadership was blamed.

The standard of education has slipped, Ofsted bosses said. Many pupils leave unprepared for high school, according to the inspection report.

Teachers have been left feeling demotivated and unskilled, the report added.

Inspectors described children’s written work as ‘poor’ and said common mistakes were not pointed out well enough to stop them being repeated.

Students were also said to have struggled to grasp core subjects, such as reading and maths.

The report said: “In Key Stage 2, pupils’ comprehension skills are poor.

“They do not question the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary and cannot recall key aspects of the text that they are reading when questioned.

“This is reflected in the low attainment of pupils, particularly boys, in reading at the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

“Pupils’ writing is devoid of quality. It is particularly weak in Key Stage 2, where pupils do not have an awareness of the standard expected of them.

“Teaching is ineffective, and pupils do not apply their learning from one piece of writing to the next.

“Basic errors, such as issues with simple punctuation, persist in pupils’ written work.

“They have little opportunity to write at length to practise their skills before moving on to new content.

“In mathematics, pupils’ progress in calculations is superficial.

“Pupils learn processes and do not have a good underlying mathematical understanding of the work that they complete.

“They do not have the skills to explain their answers clearly. Pupils struggle to explain how they solve problems. Teachers do not address pupils’ misconceptions.”

According to Ofsted, provisional 2018 results show just half of year 6 pupils who left in September achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

It added: “Despite these warning signs, there was little intervention from governors, leaders or the local authority until the appointment of the new headteacher.”

There was criticism of senior leaders, governors and Stockport council for failing to step in and challenge poor results.

The report added: “This school has lost its way.

“Ineffective leadership over time has led to a significant decline in the standard of education provided to pupils over the last few years.

“Support from the local authority has been superficial and has glossed over the school’s significant shortcomings.

“This has allowed the decline in the quality of teaching and learning to go unquestioned.”

It continued: “Ineffective governance has allowed the school’s deterioration to go unchallenged.

“Governors do not fulfil their statutory duties.

“They have failed to question leaders about pupils’ achievement and the use of additional funding, such as the pupil premium.”

There was praise for the new headteacher and deputy head, who were described by inspectors as ‘tenacious.’ According to the report, the headteacher has been ‘the spark that has rekindled the fragile confidence of staff.’

Councillor Dean Fitzpatrick, Stockport council’s cabinet member for education, said: “We are committed to all of our schools in Stockport and will strive to work further with St Elisabeth’s in order to meet the requirements of improvement identified by Ofsted inspectors.”

A letter to parents read: “While the report recognises the many strengths of the school including the Early Years, behaviour and well-being and the positive impact of the new headteacher, the overall judgement is that the school is inadequate.

“The staff and governors are clearly disappointed with the final judgement and overall outcome of the inspection, however it was not unexpected.

“The many positive comments that the inspection highlighted mean that we are justly proud of our children and the school while the more challenging parts of the report are areas already known to us that we need and have started to improve upon.

“We are already putting plans in place and taking action to improve the quality of teaching and learning and therefore outcomes for our children.

“The report is very clear that the school leadership team have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development and are determined to improve standards for the children.

“It recognises the hard work and effectiveness of the recently appointed headteacher who has been instrumental in supporting staff and governors on the school’s improvement journey.

“Please continue to work with us to ensure your children get the best education that will lead them onto a successful life journey.”