Special measures lifted at school

Amanda Chadderton

FAILSWORTH School has been taken out of special measures but has been told it still needs to improve.

Ofsted inspectors who visited the Brierley Avenue secondary last month rated it as "requires improvement" (grade 3) overall ­- although leadership was judged "good" (grade 2).

At its previous inspection in 2014, it was classed as the bottom grade "inadequate" and placed in special measures by the education watchdog who said it was failing to give pupils an acceptable standard of education.

Since then, long-standing head teacher John Meagher retired at Easter. He was replaced by interim head teacher Neil Hutchinson, an educational leadership consultant.

Oldham Council also replaced governors with an Interim Executive Board (IEB) made up of experts.

Ofsted says the leadership team, with support from the IEB and the council, has reversed the "previous lack of urgency" to improve standards.

"Leaders and managers are fully aware of strengths and weaknesses in the school and have put appropriate and effective plans in place to secure rapid improvements in teaching and learning," states their report.

Much teaching is now good and very little is inadequate thanks to extensive professional training and Ofsted adds: "Pupils who met with inspectors were of the view that in many classes work was now harder, questioning more challenging and the marking and feedback received more helpful."

But too many teachers continue to have low expectations of what pupils can accomplish and, despite recent improvements, pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

Teaching is sometimes uninspiring and some pupils become disruptive in these lessons ­- although they generally behave well around school.

The progress made by disadvantaged pupils is improving, but the attainment gap between them and their classmates remains too wide. Attendance has also fallen "despite considerable efforts".

Former Ashton MP David Heyes, whose constituency covered Failsworth, is chairman of the IEB.

He said: "The Ofsted report reflects the encouraging start the school has made on driving up standards. Much hard work lies ahead but we are absolutely determined to achieve our aim for Failsworth School to be up there with the very best."

Councillor Amanda Chadderton, cabinet member for education, said: "The council is delighted for the school and this is testament to the joined up working between all the parties concerned.

"This is not just great news for the local community but also Oldham as a whole, as it shows the rapid improvements being made in secondary education across the borough this year."