Stowupland High School “requires improvement” according to latest Ofsted report

A recent Ofsted report includes a number of areas that require improvement for a local high school.

This Ofsted report was Stowupland’s first inspection since their conversion to an academy in 2016. The report suggested that previous “changes in leadership and staffing have led to some instability” in particular, its conversion to an academy.

However, Ofsted did recognise strengths that the school had demonstrated, such as their changes to the curriculum in the past 3 years. Their approach to safeguarding, and their strong teaching programmes involving an “enrichment programme.”

Behaviour management was another key area that required improvement; Ofsted stated that “the behaviour of a minority of pupils is not always managed well enough.”

Within the report, it was brought to light that pupils haven’t made good enough progress in the past academic year. The school’s overall progress improved in 2018, however, weaknesses in certain subjects have not been addressed.

Another area of improvement issued by Ofsted was to improve their pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare. They suggested possible strategies such as: “Raising expectations” and “providing further training and support” to staff, ensuring consistency when using the schools agreed procedures for managing behaviour.

The school released a statement following their Ofsted report stating: “We understand and share the disappointment of all members of the school community that Stowupland has not been able to retain its “good” rating from 2015.”

The statement suggested that their leadership capacity in all areas is strong and they promise to ensure that the areas in need of development receive the “utmost attention”.

Furthermore, there has been information sent to parents and carers of the students at Stowuplands and they plan to keep all those concerned informed through their progression.

EB