Telford school 'not effective' yet in fixing failings

Charlton School, in Wellington, Telford was placed in special measures after receiving an 'inadequate' rating – the worst – following an inspection in May 2015.

The results of a follow-up inspection have only just been made public and although the school has shown some improvements, education inspectors say more needs to be done.

A report, published yesterday following the two-day inspection in November, said that the previous headteacher had left and the senior leadership team had now been restructured.

In the report, Ofsted inspector Mel Ford said that outcomes for students dipped further in 2015 and highlighted that the poor rates of progress in English was a major reason.

She said: "These were not outweighed by better achievement in some subjects, including the gains made in mathematics, both in terms of improved rates of progress and students' gaining an A to C grade in this subject.

"Early information shows that gaps in attainment for disadvantaged students and others in the school remain unacceptably wide as do those for disabled students and students who have special educational needs."

Inspectors said measures to secure improvements had been put in place, but much of the action taken was very recent.

The report said: "Consequently, these are not as embedded as they should be at this point."

Since September, a programme of support has also been put in place through the local authority and an experienced local leader of education has been commissioned to offer support.

Inspectors said it was a "positive contribution" but Ms Ford highlighted that there was a lack of clarity around roles and responsibilities across some areas of the leadership team.

Inspectors praised the school for having a system in place for monitoring students' progress in each subject and for its new marking policy.

But Ms Ford said that although teachers had good subject knowledge, they were not challenging the most able students in many lessons.

Charlton School spokesman Russell Griffin said: "The monitoring inspection recognises that many changes have taken place in school to address issues identified and improve the outcomes for students . . . and confirms progress as a result. However, it also identifies that the short amount of time since this was in place may have contributed to reducing the school's ability to make the early rapid progress required."