New face shows academy is keen to make grade

James Haseldine Acting Principal Waterhead Academy.

2 More Image(s) In Gallery

WATERHEAD Academy has brought in a new executive principal to turn the school around.

James Haseldine, the former head of Stretford High, has taken up the post — becoming the fifth person to be in charge of the academy which replaced Breeze Hill and Counthill schools in 2010.

Mr Haseldine was one of the country’s youngest heads and left Stetford at Easter after seven years.

Oldham College, which runs Waterhead Academy, said the existing post of principal, held by Colette Macklin, was unaffected by Mr Haseldine’s appointment.

Mrs Macklin became principal in September, 2014, having previously been at the helm of Oldham Academy North in Royton.

Waterhead was placed in special measurers following an inspection by the education watchdog Ofsted in November, 2014.

Its leadership and management, the behaviour and safety of pupils, achievement and the quality of teaching were all rated as inadequate.

Provisional GCSE results released by the Department for Education last month showed just 29 per cent of pupils achieved five A* to C grades this summer, down from 45 per cent in 2013.

For the past year, the academy has been working with the Trafford-based Dean Trust to improve standards.

Ofsted inspectors who carried out a monitoring inspection in June said Waterhead was making reasonable progress towards the removal of special measurers. It is understood Ofsted inspectors are back at the academy this week. A statement from the academy said: “The Dean Trust has immense expertise in school improvement and an excellent track record in supporting schools and academies such as ours.

“We are committed to ensuring that Waterhead fully benefits from this kind of support so that it can rapidly move to being a good school.

“A package of improvement measures has been commissioned through The Dean Trust, for 2015/16, including a new role of executive principal to lead the programme.”