The Department for Education has requested a Nottinghamshire school submit an action plan for change after the school was found to be below the expected standards for an independent school. The Wings School Notts, based at Kirklington Hall, near Newark, is a residential and day school.
It was deemed to be 'Inadequate' by Ofsted in December 2021, and an additional inspection in September 2022 found the school was still not meeting the independent school standards. A letter was sent to the school on November 24, 2022, by the Department of Education that requires the school to submit an action plan by December 28.
The action plan must specify the steps in how the school will meet each of the required school standards, and the time by which each of these steps will be met. This needs to be approved by the department, as the non-submission of a plan or the rejection of a plan could cause enforcement action, such as the school being removed from the register of independent schools or the imposition of a relevant restriction.
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The recent visits from Ofsted stated that the school had an inadequate quality of education and management, and required improvement in students personal development, behaviours and attitudes. The September report noted some improvements to the school, including a new head of education, new outdoor lighting and recent safeguarding training for staff members.
A spokesperson from Wings School Notts said: "Providing the best possible education for young people is a responsibility we take very seriously.
"A robust plan of action is addressing the matters raised and we continue to make the further improvements needed. We look forward to welcoming Ofsted back to share our progress and the significant improvements which have been made.
"We are pleased this progress is recognised in this report and that it also notes young people are positive about their experiences at the school."
Residents in the area spoke out after news of the report. A 47 year old resident who did not wish to be named said: "It doesn't benefit the local children as there is a primary school in the area, so it's not benefitting the children in the village but it is benefitting children from other areas. It's not really part of the village as such, because they are private it stands alone."
When asked about the school, mum, Helena Turner, 38, said: "We've not really had much to do with them to be honest. It doesn't really get in the way or bother us at all.
"It's quite far back but if you go for a walk across the fields sometimes you can see it.
"I have two young children that go to the primary school here, which is amazing." Helena added that older children usually go to The Minster School, which is "a really good school that gets good reports."
A retired 70 year old who did not wish to be named says she has never had a problem with the school. She said: "We don't have any sort of problems with it. I have no problem with the school being there what so ever."
Similarly another retired resident added that the school was "never noisy or anything."
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