A primary school previously rated 'good' by Ofsted has been placed in special measures following a damning inspection. The report into St Gregory's Catholic Primary School stated that it is 'inadequate' and that pupils have a 'poor standard of education'.
Bosses at the school say they took immediate steps to make improvements when the report was published in February and raised serious safeguarding concerns, reports Cheshire Live. The school, which is in Bollington, a village just outside Macclesfield, was judged to be inadequate in terms of the quality of education, leadership and management and early years provision.
It was also deemed to require improvement for personal development and behaviour and attitudes. Despite previously been judged to be 'good' by Ofsted following a full inspection in May 2012 and a follow-up short inspection in 2016, the most recent report raised concerns over safeguarding and stated that pupils' confidence in staff 'is not borne out of reality'.
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It states: "Leaders’ and teachers’ expectations of what pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities should achieve are low." It says that pupils at the school do not receive a suitable education that will prepare them for success in the next year group or secondary school - and that children in lower year groups don't learn to read and count well enough.
"Children in early years do not learn to read and count well enough. Older pupils struggle to recall the important knowledge that they have been taught because leaders have not planned an effective curriculum," says the Ofsted report.
However, inspectors found most pupils at St Gregory's 'enjoy coming to school' and that they are keen to share their ideas and opinions. It also notes that children learn to play instruments and participate in different sports, as well as visiting local places of interest.
But it goes on to say that pupils talk over each other and the teachers, which is a 'distraction'. It also states that the children's understanding of 'British values are not consistently secure'.
Referring to the safeguarding concerns, stressing that pupils do not know enough about 'risks that they may face in everyday life' - it states: "Pupils do not know enough about the potential safeguarding risks that they may face in their everyday lives. They are not taught how to keep themselves safe.
"However, they do trust adults in the school. They are willing to share their worries with adults in the hope that they will help. Despite pupils feeling that staff would deal with incidents of bullying effectively, there is no agreed approach to tackling harmful behaviour in school. This means that pupils’ confidence in staff is not borne out in reality.
"The school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils, including children in early years, are ineffective. This puts pupils at risk of harm." Ofsted found that since the last inspection, St Gregory's has failed to 'stem the decline' in the quality of education at the school.
But the report does state that pupils have access to a range of extra-curricular activities and they learn about tolerance and respect for other people. It also notes that pupils know of potential risks when playing games online. The school has now been placed into special measures and a new interim executive headteacher is working with colleagues from the local authority to begin to 'address these considerable weaknesses'.
The former headteacher left on January 21 and a new chair of governors has been elected to the governing body since the previous inspection. Jackie Walker, interim executive head of St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School, said: “I would like to assure parents and the community that since the Ofsted visit in February, we have taken a number of immediate positive steps to make improvements in the school.
“As a school, we have fully accepted the report and all its recommendations and an improvement plan to address the concerns was put into place immediately.
“A parents’ meeting was held following the inspection to discuss all aspects of the report and seek parental views which have informed the priorities. The safety of children within the school is always our utmost priority and all such concerns raised by the inspectors have now been addressed.
“Cheshire East Council services including safeguarding, HR and finance, have provided intensive support to the school as have our diocesan officials. St Gregory’s is an important part of the village of Bollington, and we are committed to working together with parents, the diocese, the council, community and parish to bring the school and education back up to the standard we want and expect for all our children.
“We are very much looking ahead to the future, the sense of a community working together is palpable. We are channelling our energy into further developing St Gregory’s as a school we are proud of and where children are safe, happy and fulfilling their potential.”
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