The Chronicle

School ‘inadequate’ – but leaders optimistic

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INSPECTORS have once again slapped Haydon Bridge High with the damning ‘Inadequate’ label.

But new leaders say they are “optimistic” for the future of the struggling Northumber­land school, after it came back under council control with a £1.54m support package.

The academy lost its proposed academy sponsor, Bright Tribe, in November.

The sponsor had been selected by the Government after the school plunged from ‘Good’ to ‘Inadequate’ in 2014, but said the school’s financial position and falling pupil number meant it could no longer support it.

In their latest visit to the school, Ofsted inspectors have kept the struggling institutio­n in special measures.

Teachers didn’t know what level their pupils were working at, inspectors said, and therefore set work too easy for some and too hard for others.

Inspectors said behaviour was “variable” and an above-average number of students were excluded.

The report states progress in maths was “extremely poor”, but “poorly planned teaching” had been allowed to continue in many areas for “too long”. The report goes on to say teachers failed to “draw pupils into the lesson”, so pupils “are unable to develop their confidence and become self assured learners.”

New council money will, councillor­s say, “improve teaching and learning”, with suggestion that the curriculum could change significan­tly to provide a more vocational programme. The council has also found between £2.5m and £3m to improve the buildings.

The leadership of the troubled school came under fire in the inspection, which took place in March, before proposals for the future of the school were finalised.

Inspectors said leaders’ plans to address key weaknesses in school “are not fit for purpose”. They slammed the Interim Executive Board (IEB) which was overseeing the school, for “neglecting” some of its key responsibi­lities and failing to offer leaders the support or challenge they needed.

Now, the local authority says it has appointed five people to form a new IEB, featuring council officers and members of the local community with specialist areas of expertise.

Councillor­s say the IEB will “hold school leaders to account and provide the necessary strategic direction”.

Despite the criticisms, inspectors did note that most pupils were “considerat­e” and well-behaved.

The sixth form was better than the rest of the school – netting a slightly better “Requires Improvemen­t” grade – and the new head, Darren Glover, was respected by the school community and acknowledg­ed to be starting to improve parts of the school “under very difficult circumstan­ces”.

County Councillor Wayne Daley, cabinet member for children’s services said: “We understand that since Bright Tribe came on the scene this has been an unsettling time for the community and the students but now we have been allowed back in the school we are optimistic for the future, despite current concerns. While the Ofsted report is disappoint­ing reading, we do not dispute the issues highlighte­d in it...Having the right leadership to drive the school forward is fundamenta­l.”

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