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Leeds school in special measures following damning OFSTED inspection

Crawshaw School in Pudsey has been placed in special measures after receiving an 'inadequate' OFSTED classification.
Crawshaw School in Pudsey has been placed in special measures after receiving an ‘inadequate’ OFSTED classification.

 

 

 

 

 

A Pudsey school has been placed into special measures following a damning OFSTED inspection.

Crawshaw School, in Pudsey, was visited by Ofsted inspectors on January 21. The report found inadequate teaching and management, underachieving pupils, low attendance and poor behaviour.

The report also outlined that the temporary status of key senior leaders and the lack of a permanent headteacher played a key role in the school’s ineffectiveness.

The report, published on March 5, found that students receiving the pupil premium have underachieved; literacy and numeracy skills are underdeveloped; the proportion of students achieving five or more A* to C grades, including English and mathematics at GCSE level fell and was below average and attendance was low.

Sean Preston, Acting Headteacher at Crawshaw School said: “Many of the issues highlighted by the inspectors were already known to the current leadership and management team of the school and clear steps had already been taken to address them.

“Our school improvement plan reflects these actions and it is disappointing that Crawshaw School was not afforded the time to be able to evidence the improvements made as a consequence of our work. 

“Last year’s examination results were disappointing, especially after so much success over the previous five years.  Early indications show that exam results this year will improve to around the level we were achieving when Ofsted graded the school ‘good’.

We believe the judgement of ‘inadequate’ is potentially very damaging for the school, however, the Governors, Leadership Team and the rest of the staff are committed to making the necessary improvements at Crawshaw.  We know there are challenges ahead but we are united in our resolve to move the school forward.

Whilst this is a challenging time, our school has many strengths and we will treat this as an opportunity to benefit from the monitoring and additional support offered as a result of the inspection in order to make rapid improvements. “

David Gillingham, chairman of Governors at Crawshaw School said: “As a school at the heart of our community, we look forward to working with parents, carers and the wider community to move Crawshaw forward. Ultimately, our aim is to provide the best education possible for the young people of Pudsey and their success will remain at the centre of everything we do. 

The school has enlisted the support of Keith Bothamley, Headteacher at Horsforth School to act as Executive Headteacher to help strengthen leadership in response to the findings of the inspection.

 

 

 

 

 

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