School to make academy choice
CHILDREN at an improving school could see changes come in as it looks to become an academy.
Theresa Rogers, headteacher at Admirals Junior School, in Thetford, said she was pleased with an Ofsted report released last Thursday that meant the school was no longer under a Notice to Improve, issued in May 2011.
“There was a big job to do and Ofsted recognised what we had done but that we still had more to do,” she said.
One way the school is looking at continuting its development is to take on academy status, according to Mrs Rogers.
A meeting will take place on Wednesday to allow parents to hear from the Academy Transformation Trust (ATT), the school’s proposed sponsors.
ATT is also sponsoring the new Diamond Academy on the former Queensway Junior School site.
Mrs Rogers said: “There seems to be a growing number of academies across the county so for us it feels like something we are ready to explore.”
The school’s Ofsted inspection, carried out in July, found that the school is not yet providing a good standard of education but that it has made improvements.
A report, produced by inspector Heather Yaxley, states that pupils’ attainment is low but is improving rapidly.
The quality of teaching has been raised due to higher expectations and better support, but weaknesses in planning and assessment remain.
There was praise for senior leaders in the report, which says the most important areas for improvement are being tackled.
The school was given an overall rating of ‘satisfactory’ but there is still ‘work to be done’, according to Ms Yaxley.
Mrs Rogers said giving teachers the tools to perform their role had sparked the upturn in results.
“I think we have a very stable learning environment now, where everybody is focused on the classroom.
“The process we went through was quite a positive experience and that comes through in the report,” she said.
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