Ofsted inspectors identify "serious weaknesses" at Gloucester Academy
INSPECTORS say a new Gloucester school has serious weaknesses and is inadequate.
An Ofsted inspection report on Gloucester Academy, published today, says attainment at the Saintbridge school has declined in its second year, and achievement of pupils is inadequate, a ranking of four.
The school is an amalgam of two failing schools, and a new £15million build on the former Central Technology College site is due to open next year.
The report makes it clear there is still much to do - teaching, pupil behviour, leadership and management are ranked at three - requiring improvement.
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Inspectors found last month that major changes are being made, and some are starting to make a difference.
Inspectors said headteacher John Reilly, governors and senior leaders are "sharply focused" on improvement and teaching is improving much more quickly compared to last year.
And they found a "positive climate" for learning thanks to significant improvements in students' behaviour and attitudes.
John Reilly, headteacher of Gloucester Academy, said, "I am delighted the Ofsted inspectors have seen how much the academy has improved in the last year. We recognise that there is still much to do but we are now seeing the benefits of the investments we have made in improving the quality of teaching and learning at the academy. We are focused on our journey of continuing to improve our academy in line with our ethos of working together in an atmosphere that encourages respect for others, for our environment and for ourselves. We intend to build on this report and the progress it identified to deliver a significant improvement in next year's exam results."
The academy which opened in September 2010 has made strong progress with learning and teaching. The inspectors found lessons are improving for the all academy's students, including for those who are disabled or have special educational needs, mainly because students' attitudes to learning are considerably more positive than in the past.
The inspectors saw examples of good practice across a variety of lessons varying from art to mathematics and science. One of the best lessons observed was a Year 10 philosophy lesson, here students were shown to be making excellent progress in learning about the subject, but also demonstrated they were developing a deeper understanding of other aspects of learning, such as social and moral questions.
The positive aspects of the academy's pastoral support to encourage an inclusive and caring learning environment and the introduction of the ASPIRE system which endorses pupils' positive behaviour is also reflected in the inspector's comments, "The academy has correctly evaluated behaviour as having improved considerably since it opened. The 'ASPIRE' system, which promotes respect and good attitudes to learning, is having a strongly positive impact. Senior leaders at the Academy have established a positive atmosphere of pride and purpose, underpinned by stronger and more consistently applied strategies for managing behaviour."
Mr Reilly added, "We are very excited about our new £15 million state of the art academy building. It will provide first class facilities to our students, including new IT and digital space to reflect Gloucester Academy's vocational and IT specialisms. The new building, due to open next academic year, is the physical manifestation of the changes and improvements we are already making, as we seek to create an exciting and inspiring place to learn."
Comments
by Butterfly16
Thursday, November 08 2012, 10:56PM
“Yet again the Citizen reports factually incorrect information.
"The school is an amalgam of two failing schools." No it isn't. Central Technology College was graded as 'Good' by Ofsted and in the year that it closed 92% of students achieved 5 A*-C grades. That is not a failing school.
If you are going to bandy words like 'failing' around, let's start with GlosMedia who own the Citizen. Ever since GlosMedia announced that it would be a partner in the Academy it has consistently failed to report the achievements of Central accurately. On more than one occasion it has wrongly reported it as a failing school and on more than one occasion their error has been pointed out to them, and yet they still get it wrong. Furthermore Some might argue that that GlosMedia have also not fully reported on the failures of the Academy, it could be suggested that their relationship with the Academy compromises their journalistic integrity.
Central Technology College closed in 2010, yet less than 18 months later it went from an Ofsted grading of 'Good' to inadequate and from this recent report it is clear that it has not improved. That is the story here. Many of the staff were the same, the kids were certainly the same so what changed? Leadership and management. Brought in my the Academy sponsors who promised so much but have utterly failed to deliver. Another example of real failure in this story that the Citizen haven't bothered to investigate and address.
And whilst Prospects have been playing around at running a school and the Citizen has been reporting the wrong information, students at this school have been colossally failed.”
by Hooter
Wednesday, November 07 2012, 11:46PM
“Reading the article it seems that although the school has been identified as having serious weaknesses and is categorised as inadequate, this is only highlighted in the first paragraph and after that the tone of the article slowly turns more positive in nature. Having read the Ofsted inspection report I find this confusing, as the report paints a lot darker picture of the school's performance and is at odds with the spin that has clearly been provided by the Academy itself
I would suggest that anyone who would like to see a true reflection of the current performance of the school should read the actual Ofsted report as that contains a more accurate explanation as to why it has been given an inadequate status.
An inadequate classification is now Ofsted's lowest rating and at a time when there is the aim to improve schools, Gloucester Academy seems to be heading in the oposite direction.
Whilst I would obviously hope that the school can turn this around for the sake of the students there, I think questions need to asked of the management of the school if after all the promises made when it was created, this is the result.”