Struggling school ‘on cusp of greatness’, says new interim leader

A YORKSHIRE secondary school placed in ‘special measures’ by Ofsted just two weeks after its headteacher quit is “on the cusp of greatness”, says its new leader.

The education watchdog placed Westfield School, in Sheffield, in special measures this week after inspectors branded the overall effectiveness of the school as ‘inadequate’.

The leadership team was found to have “failed to improve the school sufficiently since the last inspection” and they concluded the school was “failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education”.

It comes just a fortnight after headteacher Andy Ireland quit following the inspectors’ visit.

But the new interim head, brought in to oversee the running of the school has urged parents to have faith in it.

Roisin Paul, who also runs Silverdale School, in Sheffield, said: “Having been in Westfield for just a few weeks, it’s clear that it is on the cusp of being a fantastic school.

“The students have a really positive attitude and the staff are keen to do what’s necessary to make it the excellent school it can be.

“I’ll be working with everyone to put together a plan to make this happen.”

Mr Paul added: “The Ofsted judgement highlighted that progress had been made since their last inspection but that this progress just hadn’t been fast enough.”

The Silverdale Multi-Academy Trust was appointed by Sheffield Council to provide interim leadership for the school.

Both Westfield and Silverdale schools are recruiting new heads who will start in September under the executive headship of Ms Paul.