Pupils, staff and parents at Failsworth School are celebrating after it was taken out of Special Measures.
The turnaround in fortunes is down to a dramatic change of approach, driven by the Interim Executive Board (IEB), which was brought in to govern the school by Oldham Council.
Prior to a recent Ofsted inspection the IEB team introduced a number of quick, but long term improvements and they have paid off – helping to improve the prospects and outcomes for all pupils.
The school was placed into special measures at the end of 2014 after OFSTED inspectors gave it the lowest possible ranking of inadequate, a decision that was appealed against unsuccessfully by the school governors.
The Ofsted inspectors said much of the teaching is now good and the leadership team, with strong support from the Interim Executive Board (IEB) and Oldham Council, has embedded a clear vision and ambition for the future of the school.
The inspectors added: “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 they received more helpful.”
The Chair of the IEB, David Heyes, 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 which is for Failsworth School to be up there with the very best.”
Councillor Amanda Chadderton, Cabinet Member for Education and Early Years, 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
“We will continue to work with the school as it starts its journey to getting a ‘good’ grading.
“Oldham now has eight mainstream secondaries that are good or better we only had four this time last year so it shows improvements are being made. In total 70 per cent of our secondary aged children now go to a school that is good or better.
“This is a great achievement and shows the effectiveness of our school improvement partnership and the impact the Oldham Education and Skills Commission recommendations are having.
“That said we are not complacent. We have still much work to do. We have three academies and two maintained secondary schools that are not yet Good, we look forward to continuing to work with them and the Regional Schools Commissioner to secure their rapid improvement.”
