A SCHOOL found to be failing just 18 months is now 'rapidly' improving after a determined effort by teachers, governors and education chiefs.
When education inspectors visited St Peter's Primary, Church Street, Burnley, in December 2006, they expressed concerns about levels of achievement, teaching standards and problems with pupils' attendance.
And the school, which had been without a headteacher for the spring and summer terms that year, was served with a notice to improve by schools watchdog Ofsted.
advertisement
Back then newly-installed headteacher Alison Mitchell, who had started that September, was faced with a tough task.
But after inspectors revisited the school last month, they were impressed enough to withdraw the improvement notice - and remark on the advances made in a relatively short period of time.
Inspectors remarked that Mrs Mitchell was regarded as "inspirational".
Exam results for Year Two and Year Six in 2007 led to the highest marks achieved in a number of years - and there is evidence that the trend has continued in 2008.
Lead inspector Kathryn Dodd said: "It is a rapidly improving school. There are many more good features than reported at the previous inspection, and the weaknesses identified are being tackled with rigour and determination."
One area which has been successfully tackled is poor attendance - and the headteacher has praised the involvement of governors, staff, parents and Lancashire education authority in St Peter's efforts to turn things around.
Mrs Mitchell said: "Given the fact that we were given a notice to improve in December 2006, the school has made substantial progress to come out of this category.
"Part of it has been down to improvements in attendance. The leadership and management of the school has been strong and carried us through some turbulent times."
The inspectors noted that children were being set more challenging targets and this had led to better standards in writing, reading and numeracy.
Mrs Dodds adds: "Staff, pupils, governors and parents agree that the leadership of the headteacher is inspirational'.
"She has put the school on a clear pathway of improvement. The senior leadership team and governors relish the many opportunities they have for training.
"They apply their newly found skills with growing confidence. This, along with the hard work and commitment of other staff, is helping to turn this school around and efforts are paying significant dividends."
The school has been told that it can improve its progress still further by raising standards in English and maths and ensuring there is consistently good practices used in teaching across the curriculum.
top cat, did you have help to create that stupid post or did you manage it all by yourself?
Either way, garbage like yours only provides fuel for folks to laugh at Burnley residents.
top cat, did you have help to create that stupid post or did you manage it all by yourself?
Either way, garbage like yours only provides fuel for folks to laugh at Burnley residents.
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
Print
Email this
Comment
