Improving school out of 'special measures'

St Matthew's CE Primary School

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A CHADDERTON primary school which is going from "strength to strength" has been taken out of special measures.

The education watchdog Ofsted has praised "rapid improvements" St Matthew's CE Primary since it was graded as inadequate in January 2016.

Areas identified then have been addressed "with energy and vigour", say the inspectors who returned in June. They now class the Chadderton Hall Road school as requires improvement (grade three) overall, although leadership and management, early years and pupils' personal development, behaviour and welfare are good.

"Since the last inspection, senior leaders and governors have set a clear trajectory of improvement within the school. As a result, the school is now going from strength to strength," says the Ofsted report.

"Strong leadership has galvanised the staff, parents and pupils. Leaders have won the hearts and minds of the school community to repair the damage of the school's prior inadequate provision.

"The development of staff has been a feature of the school's journey to pull itself out of special measures. Staff feel empowered by leaders and are positive about the arrangements that are in place for the management of their performance."

Pupils make good progress in reception because of good teaching, their progress in reading throughout the school is good and phonics teaching is very strong.

Behaviour is good, attendance is above the national average and the inspectors added: "Pupils are confident, pleasant and polite. They are proud to be part of the school because of the sense of belonging that leaders have instilled among them.

"Parents describe this as a 'dramatic turn-around' in the school's fortunes because they have seen their children re-engage with school. Parents cite the relationships between staff and pupils and the emergence of the many after-school clubs as major reasons for this."

Areas for improvement include inconsistent progress in English and maths, "superficial coverage" of other subjects and the progress of the brightest pupils in writing and maths. Governors have been told to monitor more closely the impact of additional funding for disadvantaged pupils.

Head teacher Martin Moore is praised by inspectors for "reinvigorating" the school.

He said: "I am really proud of the progress the school has made and how this has been fully recognised by Ofsted. To be out of special measures is something we are especially pleased about, as it is recognition of the hard work everyone has put in over the last 17 months. My thanks go to our parents, pupils, governors and our loyal and committed staff for helping to transform the school in such a short space of time.

"However, we are not complacent and we realise that while this is a positive step forward, there are still issues to address."