A tough Ofsted but school going in right direction (From Malvern Gazette)

A tough Ofsted but school going in right direction

12:00pm Friday 8th March 2013 in News

A tough Ofsted but school going in right direction

THE headteacher of one of Malvern’s largest schools says it is moving in the right direction after an Ofsted report called for widespread improvement.

The schools watchdog will today (Friday) publish findings from its latest inspection of Dyson-Perrins CE Academy.

Judging the school “requires improvement”, lead inspector Lisa Fraser raised concerns students are not making enough progress and teaching, while never inadequate, could improve in-many areas.

However she also noted pupils’ academic achievement and GCSE performance has improved steadily over the lastthree years, teaching in certain subjects is outstanding and students are safe well-behavedandsafe.

Headteacher David Griffin said a new, tougher Ofsted framework meant inspectors had not been able to give the school full credit-for its progress since its last inspection in December 2010.

The grade three rating the 749- pupil school attained this time around would have seen it labelled “satisfactory” before the goalposts were shifted last year.

Mr Griffin said it was important people realised the latest report did not signify a return to the “special measures” Dysons was surprisingly placed into back in 2009 after an inspection which education chiefs at Worcestershire County Council labelled “harsh”.

“Under the new framework, inspectors were, unfortunately, unable to give full credit to our school’s improvement since the last inspection, such as our 5+ A* to C grades being the best among the state schools of Malvern,” he said.

“We are delighted attainment is in line with national expectations and students’ behaviour is good.

“The bar has been raised under the new Ofsted framework and our school is already working on areas to improve.”

In her report, Mrs Fraser states: “Although results are now in line with that expected nationally, given students’ starting points, they are not making as-much-progress as they could.”

But she also notes that school leaders have taken “robust action” to improve teaching by tackling under-performance, and that ideas brought in by several “strong” new senior staff appointments over the last year have not yet had chance to make an impact on results.

ABOUT THE SCHOOL

Dyson Perrins CE Academy is smaller than the average secondary school, with specialist status for sport.

It converted to become an academy school in February 2011 and meets government minimum standards for students’ attainment and progress.

HOW IT RATED:

Attainment of pupils: 3 (requires improvement) Quality of teaching: 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils: 4 (good) Leadership and management: 3

WHAT IT DOES WELL:

The proportion of students gaining five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C, including English and maths, has risen steadily over the last three years.

There is some outstanding teaching in religious education, English and PE.

Behaviour and safety are good, students show respect for each other and teachers.

WHAT IT MUST IMPROVE:

Improve the quality of teaching, particularly in maths, to at least “good” by ensuring work matches pupils’ needs, encouraging students to respond to feedback and sharing best practice across subjects.

Improve effectiveness of leaders and managers by ensuring the curriculum meets specific needs and evaluating the impact of specific initiatives and making adjustments if necessary.