Parents meet to discuss Waseley's need for improvement

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PARENTS were called to Waseley Hills High School to address the latest Ofsted report which declared every area of the school needed improving.

Discussions took place on Tuesday (March 5) about how the school aimed to meet national requirements.

The report was produced after a two-day visit at the end of January where inspectors attended 41 lessons and spoke to students, teachers, as well as Principal Alan Roll and chair of governors Eric Hogg.

It is the first Waseley has had since becoming an academy in September last year.

The school was graded three overall, below Good, and ‘required improvement’ in all four key areas - achievement of pupils, quality of teaching, behaviour and safety of pupils and leadership and man-agement.

Ofsted inspectors pointed out several weaknesses, most of which surrounded the level of teaching.

The report said students lost interest in weaker classes, teaching quality varied throughout the school, pupils were not progressing enough in English and maths and the difficulty of work was often set at the wrong level.

Senior staff were also criticised for not helping teachers improve and Mr Roll and the school gover-nors came under fire for ‘not having a clear view of the impact of spending on students who receive additional funding’.

Attendance at Waseley was deemed on a par with most other UK schools, although the number of fixed term exclusions was near-ly double the national average.

The academy was however credited for its ‘strong’ sixth-form, and teaching in some humanities subjects, particularly religious studies which was considered ‘outstand-ing’ in some classes. Inspectors also said disabled pupils and those with special edu-cational needs were progressing well.

The grade three rating means Waseley will be subject to another inspection within two years.

District councillor Peter McDonald, and former governor at Waseley until last September, expressed his fears for the school and claimed other worried parents had contacted him about it.

He said: “I was very concerned at the time the school transferred to an academy. It wasn’t in good shape and still needed support from the county council.”

School Principal Alan Roll dismissed the notion transferring to an academy had had a negative impact. He said the achievements section of the Ofsted report was based on last year’s results before the school had converted.

Mr Roll also said the school was one of many affected by English GCSE results marked down nationally and added forecasts for this year’s examinations indicated a marked improvement.

“I would expect as an academy to stride on from that.” he added.

Mr Roll also urged any parents with concerns to contact the school directly at office@wase-leyhills.worcs.sch.uk or by calling 0121 453 5211. The full Ofsted report is avail-able to view at www.waseleyhills.worcs.sch.uk

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