Staff at Spalding’s Sir John Gleed School are cautiously optimistic that its two-year stint in special measures is over.
Education watchdog Ofsted carried out an inspection just before the Easter holidays and the indications are that sufficient progress has been made to remove its lowest rating.
The report is due to be published imminently and, if confirmed, the news will be welcomed by staff and students alike.
The school accepts that there is still much work to be done to continue the upward spiral, executive headteacher Chris Mallaband saying “a third of the job is done”.
“The inspection went very well and we’re hopeful that when the report is published we are not in special measures,” he said.
The school was given the rating following an inspection in April 2013. Only last December Ofsted said not enough improvement had been made for the rating to be removed. That looks to have altered now.
While the school is likely to be classed “satisfactory” in three of the four sub-categories – behaviour, teaching, and leadership and management – it will still be deemed to have “serious weaknesses” in achievement.
That is because the assessment is based on last year’s exam results, which Mr Mallaband accepts were “disappointing”. However, he is quietly confident that this year’s results will show an improvement, which could lead to a rating upgrade.
Headteacher Will Scott, his staff and pupils have been highly praised by Mr Mallaband, who has noticed a “change in culture” around the school.
“Will Scott has been an absolute superstar and the staff are 100 per cent behind him,” he said.
In February teachers’ unions were involved in talks over heavy workloads at the school, but industrial action was averted.
Mr Mallaband said this week: “The staff are worn out because they are working so hard.
“An Ofsted inspection in the week before a holiday is not ideal, but it turned out well and everyone went away happy.”
The encouraging news comes amid improved attendance records. Last week’s Year 11 record of 96.9 per cent compares with 93 per cent for the same period in 2014.
