Stockport school placed into special measures after 'failing pupils'
Inspectors said the curriculum at Werneth School in Romiley 'was not fit for purpose'.
Pupils have been ‘let down for too long’ at a school where exam results are persistently among the worst in the country, according to a damning Ofsted report.
A two-day inspection found the curriculum at Werneth School was ‘not fit for purpose’ as well as being ‘poorly planned and implemented’.
And the education watchdog says the most disadvantaged youngsters and those with special needs fare particularly badly at the school in Romiley, Stockport.
The report rates the secondary comprehensive as ‘inadequate’ overall – the lowest possible grading – and it has now been placed in special measures.
It states: “Pupils have been let down academically for too long at this school.
“Pupils do not achieve as well as they should because of the poor quality of education that they receive. The curriculum does not fully meet pupils’ needs. As a result, examination results remain well below those of other pupils nationally.”
The report adds that the Harrytown school is failing youngsters as its curriculum is ‘not fit for purpose’ – resulting in ‘weak’ exam results.
“Year on year, pupils’ results fall far short of what they are capable of. This is the case across most subjects, including English, mathematics, science and history,” it says.
Inspectors also found the education pupils receive in their first three years fails to prepare them for studying for their GCSEs between the ages of 14 and 16.
School leaders do not ensure that the full requirements of the national curriculum are taught and – too often – coverage of topics is ‘superficial, contains gaps and lacks ambition’.
Pupils do not get the opportunity to learn what they need to and struggle to tackle new and challenging ideas, due to their previous learning being ‘shallow and insecure’.
And those suffering most from the ‘poor quality’ of education at Werneth are pupils from the poorest backgrounds and those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Ofsted says ‘leaders must take urgent action to remove these inequalities and secure improvements to pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 11’ (their final year).
And while SEND pupils with education, health and care (EHC) plans are said to be ‘generally well known and supported’, others are not.
“These pupils’ needs are not met, which leads to their poor experience of school and their poor academic outcomes,” the report finds.
Attendance is poor across the board – again especially among SEND and disadvantaged youngsters – and this contributes to pupils’ weak education.
The attendance of vulnerable pupils also remains far too low and attempts to reverse the trend have so far proven ineffective.
As well as being rated ‘inadequate’ overall, the school was also found to be inadequate in four of Ofsted’s five assessment categories. Personal development was found to ‘require improvement’.
But, despite its scathing content, there are some positive findings in the report.
School leaders, including governors, are said to care about the pupils and want them to do well – despite not being ‘ambitious enough’ for them.
Youngsters also say they feel safe and able to be themselves at the school.
They make friends easily and understand and respect people’s differences.
Bullying is rare, and school leaders are said to deal with it well.
However the school will be placed in special measures as it is failing to give pupils an acceptable standard of education and those responsible for leading the school are not demonstrating they have the ability to make the necessary improvements.
Responding to the report Headteacher Andrew Conry said: “We were pleased that Ofsted recognised some of the real strengths in our school – the sound work in terms of students’ personal development, improved behaviour in school, students feeling both safe and valued and that rare instances of bullying are dealt with effectively.
“Our effective safeguarding was also recognised.”
He stresses that the school has ‘invested heavily’ in improving attendance over the last year and will continue to do so.
The school’s attendance is around 92pc and leaders are striving to increase this to the national average of 94.5pc.
“We know that – as is the case with the majority of our students – where students attend, they go on to achieve their potential,” he said.
Mr Conroy added: “As is the case with many schools in similar contexts, we showed Ofsted clearly how the social context of our school impacts on a minority of students and has a detrimental impact on our attendance and achievement figures.
“Despite this, our achievement figures have improved across all indicators year on year over the past three years. We have clear plans in place to continue to improve our curriculum to offer diverse qualifications for those students who require a different, more vocational pathway.
“This school has been recognised by Stockport Local Authority as an improving school, and all of the professionals within and around our school are disappointed that the context of the school and improvements secured to date were not acknowledged by Ofsted. We have very clear plans in place to continue our improvement journey.”
The full report can be found on Ofsted’s website.