Ofsted rules that good progress is being made at St Sampson's High

The school community was rocked last July by a damning Ofsted report, which found the school ‘inadequate’ in three out of four key areas, with poor attendance, disrespect for teachers and bullying highlighted.

But when inspectors returned last month they found that substantial improvements had been made.

It noted progress across all three areas looked at – quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management.

Inspector Sarah McGinnis noted that all senior leaders, with the exception of principal Vicky Godley, were new in post, and they had formed cohesive and enthusiastic team.

However, there was some instability in staffing, with a number of unfilled vacancies at the school this year.

Despite this, Ms McGinnis said the team had galvanised staff and made improvements a team endeavour.

‘[Staff] are proud of what the school has achieved so far,’ Ms McGinnis said.

‘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.’

She noted that pupil behaviour had improved considerably and classrooms had become purposeful places to learn.

‘While there remain some pupils who have negative views of school and make poor choices in how they relate to others, such pupils are in the minority.’

Mrs Godley said the team was pleased that the work that had taken place over the last year was being recognised by the inspectors.

‘Following the disappointment of our inspection last year, I am incredibly proud of the response from our staff, students and whole school community,’ she said.

‘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.’