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Head David Ashley
OFSTED: Leadership at school ‘inadequate’
Marie Burchill13/12/2007
THE headteachers and governors of Parrs Wood High School have come in for fierce criticism in a damning Ofsted report.
Inspectors described the school as ‘failing to provide an acceptable standard of education’ and hit out at the people responsible for ‘leading, managing and governing’ for not securing necessary improvements.
The report claims the leadership and management are currently inadequate.
Details of the long-awaited report have finally been made public by Ofsted weeks after the Reporter revealed the school was to be put in special measures.,
This means that the school will be constantly monitored by education officials who will insist that standards are raised to meet those laid down by the Government.
It also means that inspectors can turn up to access the school after giving just 24 hours notice.
The report says: "The school does not demonstrate the capacity to improve. There is a lack of shared vision and little understanding of what needs to be done to make the most impact on provision.
"A number of pupils expressed real concerns that some lessons are disrupted by the inattentiveness of their peers.
"Students and parents are proud of the school but are also concerned about the inconsistencies in many aspects of school life."
Poor achievement among 11-to-14-year-olds at Key Stage 3 has also been highlighted as a problem.
The school – once labelled as one of the biggest and most successful schools in England – is currently led under the dual headship of David Ashley and Rachel Jones. Together they receive a combined salary of around £200,000 per year.
Mr Ashley said an action plan was being developed to tackle problems at the school.
He added: "I can see that there are clear issues identified in the report for us to address. We are working hard with the governors, staff and the LEA to develop an action plan.
"We will communicate these plans with the parents and give them the opportunity to see the improvements and to see the school working well."
Jan Maughan, 34, has a 13-year-old daughter at Parrs Wood High School. A copy of the report arrived at her house on Parrs Wood Road on Saturday, December 8.
Ms Maughan said: "Everybody wants the best for the kids at the school and as parents we want the situation sorted out, and quickly. Too much pressure is being put on the children and teaching staff."
Lucy Powell, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Withington and a former pupil at the school, said: "The main criticisms in the report are of the leading, managing and governing body and it is disgraceful that the school has fallen foul of these kind of problems.
"The report openly praises the pupils at the school, which is rather unusual for an Ofsted report, and it is wrong that the children have been let down by those in charge.
"The school also needs to have more engagement with parents, as the report has come as quite a shock to many.
"I want to see all of these steps being taken so that this situation is sorted out before Christmas."
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For the record here's Parrs Wood's headline GCSE statistic (5 A* to C) for the last 13 years :-
1994 46% 1995 33% 1996 50% 1997 50% 1998 53% 1999 50% 2000 47% 2001 47% 2002 57% 2003 63% 2004 55% 2005 58% 2006 71% 2007 65%
Iain Hall was in charge from before 1990 until Dec 2003.
It's ironic that the very people who caused this mess in the first place (i.e. Manchester Education Authority) are the people who are now riding in on a white charger to get us out of this mess.
Articles from 2005 suggest that a large number of Governors were very unhappy about how the appointment of David Ashley was handled. Unspeciified allegations were made. Manchester Education Authority appears to have imposed their will on the Governors and School.
17/12/2007 at 09:21