Ofsted Identifies Serious Issues at School
A top school that had once been rated as excellent by Ofsted is now called weak.
A visit to West Lakes Academy in Egremont, Cumbria, has revealed large issues with how lessons are shared among teachers and how the school views the marking of student work. There is a conflict with teachers who plan to take industrial action in September and October, saying that the students treat them unpleasantly.
The group running the school, the Changing Lives Learning Trust, said that while regretting the report, it also accepted its findings. They are now working to resolve the identified issues. This report followed a monitoring visit on the 17th and 18th of June. It concluded that the school was inadequate in teaching, leadership, and management.
The report went on to recommend improvements in student behavior, personal development, and lessons for older students. However, schools will no longer receive one big grade come September 2024.
Where the report had been critical had largely been in weak lesson planning and execution that failed to push teachers into teaching deeply. It noted: "The work that students and some older students do does not help them understand their subjects well."
"The lookers maintained that the school had just been through some hard times, but the trust brought about some calm by appointing Stephen Grant as the permanent headteacher. The school is now planning on further strengthening its new leadership with two additional heads, for mathematics and English, respectively, commencing in September."
"With the new, energetic, and robust leadership team, we are poised to make speedy remedies to the problems cited, in collaboration with our school community," an unidentified voice added.
The lookers maintained that the children felt happy and safe but were often missing from school. Yet, teachers had issues about student behavior, and the NASUWT teachers' union called out for a strike.
Karen Brocklebank, the union leader in Cumbria, said, "Our fight is about how our folks have been handled and the lack of steady support for teachers facing trouble and mean acts from kids."
Although the teachers were to strike last week, they held off following "promising talks" with the new head, Ms. Brocklebank remarked. "We hope this break lets us put agreed steps into play and makes room for more talks to end this fight."
A talker for West Lakes Academy said the team had "made real change in how students act," also seen in the Ofsted write-up. "The school is now fast working to use the same way to grow the study plan and chances for personal growth," they said.
"We set the bar high for both staff and students, and all at school will work hard to make sure key upgrades in both teaching and learning move forward fast."
