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Inadequacies at St Sampson's High School are being worked on, according to Oftsed, after the national body returned to the school following its full inspection last year that found the quality of education at the school "wasn't good enough".
In July last year Ofsted published a damning report into the quality of the school's education provision. Across four categories the school was deemed inadequate in all but one.
The Office for Standards in Education, Children Services and Skills (Ofsted) subsequently said it would visit the school within the following academic year to check that it was implementing changes.
That monitoring inspection has now been undertaken and Ofsted has found progress is being in the three indicators that were deemed inadequate: Quality of Education, Behaviour and Attitudes, and Leadership Management.
"Since the previous inspection, there have been substantial changes to the leadership of the school," the report states.
"All senior leaders, with the exception of the headteacher, are new in post. Despite their tenure being at any early stage, they have developed into a cohesive and enthusiastic team that is respected by staff. There has also been considerable staff turnover, with 15 new staff starting at the school since the beginning of this academic year.
"Against the backdrop of this instability in staffing, leaders have pushed ahead with determination to remedy the weaknesses identified at the previous inspection. Instrumental to this has been leaders’ work to galvanise the efforts and gain the confidence of all staff. Leaders have achieved considerable success with this objective.
"There is now a shared endeavour to make the improvements needed. Staff describe this as ‘a wonderful journey’ and are proud of what the school has achieved so far. Nonetheless, leaders have not rested on their laurels, recognising that there is still more work to do to improve the quality of education that pupils receive."
The dense publication also indicates that leaders at the school have worked hard to "ensure that pupils understand what constitutes bullying" and that the school now has "wonderful" anti-bullying ambassadors. It said work done following the publication of the original report has led to safeguarding in the school now being effective.
An increasingly positive and easy culture in the school has also paved the way for better attendance.
"There is, however, scope for further improvement, particularly in how well pupils are supported to catch up with their learning when they have been absent," it said.
You can read the full report ONLINE.
Vicky Godley, St Sampson’s High School Principal, said: "We are pleased that the significant amount of work which has taken place over this academic year has been recognised. Following the disappointment of our inspection last year, I am incredibly proud of the response from our staff, students and whole school community. Everyone has pulled together and today’s report is testament to the hard work, commitment and resilience of our school community.
"We have come a long way, but no one at our school is resting on laurels and we all remain absolutely committed to continuing our journey of improvement."
Nick Hynes, Director of Education, said: "Vicky and her team deserve a lot of credit for delivering substantial improvements over such a short space of time. One academic year is not a long time in which to make significant progress like we’ve seen at St Sampson’s High this year; it really is a fantastic achievement for the whole school."
Pictured: Ms Godley and Mr Hynes.
Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen, President of the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture, said: "The hard work that Vicky, her staff and her students, together supported by their parents and carers and the wider St Sampson’s High community has been recognised by Ofsted in this monitoring inspection and this focus on continual improvement is being reflected across the whole education system.
"Everyone was understandably disappointed last July when we received the inspection report for St Sampson’s High, but to take stock of that disappointment and use it to bring the school community together with a renewed focus is an incredible achievement."
St Sampson's High School rated "inadequate" by Ofsted
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