'We are under no illusions': Oversubscribed Halifax high school vows to keep improving after 'Inadequate' Ofsted rating for education
A Halifax secondary school has been praised for its pupils’ behaviour and personal development but rated ‘Inadequate’ when it comes to the quality of their education.
Park Lane Academy has welcomed the findings of its latest Ofsted report and has vowed to continue the improvements it has made since the previous inspection.
Principal Stuart Hillary said: “We’re pleased that Ofsted has recognised the strong progress Park Lane Academy is making.
"The report highlights the improvements in behaviour, the positive culture among staff and pupils, and the impact of the work we’ve done to support personal development.
“At the same time, we are under no illusions. Academic outcomes must continue to improve, and we are working tirelessly to ensure that they do.
"We’ve introduced new teaching strategies, invested in curriculum development and are holding ourselves to high standards.
"We fully expect this summer’s GCSE results to be our strongest yet.”
The education watchdog gave the school ‘Good’ ratings for behaviour and attitudes, and personal development; ‘Requires Improvement’ for leadership and management; and ‘Inadequate’ for quality of education.
Park Lane Academy is over-subscribed and, to meet growing demand, is expanding to a five-form entry from September.
The school received more than 130 in-year transfer applications over the last academic year - posing an extra challenge for teachers.
“As we integrate such a large number of in-year transfer students, we often face the challenge of bringing them up to speed on our curriculum, as different schools sequence the learning in different orders,” said Mr Hillary.
“We’re proud to now be an oversubscribed school, as a result of the improved reputation amongst students and families," he added.
“We’re always happy to welcome parents and prospective pupils to visit us and see the difference for themselves.”
The inspectors’ report said leaders have improved the standards of behaviour.
"Pupils benefit from calm, settled classrooms, where routines are well embedded,” it said.
"Positive relationships between pupils and staff are commonplace. Pupils attend school regularly. Pupils are happy, polite and respectful.
"Bullying is rare and pupils feel safe at school. They have access to trusted adults, who provide guidance and reassurance when matters arise.”
The report also commended the support of pupils’ wider development, which includes extra-curricular activities, careers advice and leadership opportunities.
"Nevertheless, many leave school without a sufficient range of qualifications to ensure that they have a broad range of options for the next stage of education, training or employment,” said the report.
"Leaders are ambitious for pupils to behave and achieve well. However, the expectations for pupils’ achievement have not been realised.
"Too few pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, make expected rates of progress by the end of Key Stage 4.
"Over time, the proportion of pupils obtaining GCSE qualifications in a range of subjects, including English and mathematics, has remained very low.”
It said much work has taken place to strengthen the quality of the school’s offer to support SEND pupils and there are some signs of improvement.
To improve further, the inspectors recommend the quality of education should be improved, staff subject expertise should be boosted, it should be ensured assessment is linked to the content taught and used effectively to identify and close gaps in pupils’ learning, and staff should use the precise information shared about each pupil with SEND effectively.