Telford school standards 'up but work needed'

Mount Gilbert School in Dawley, was put in special measures in 2014 by the education watchdog.

The school was told it must improve students' skills in English and maths, bring in more rigorous checks on the quality of teaching and take measures to improve pupils' behaviour.

But a newly published report, following an inspection last month, has revealed that the school is taking "effective" action towards coming out of special measures.

In the new report, inspector Linda McGill said leadership had "continued to strengthen".

She said: "Members of the senior team work closely together and provide clear direction and guidance for teachers and support staff. They have a positive, optimistic outlook and are striving for improvements in the school's provision that will lead to better outcomes for the pupils."

She said leaders had recently implemented a different system for assessing pupils' attainment and tracking their progress and school governors were keeping a close eye on progress.

There has also been an improvement in teaching but further work is needed, according to the report.

It said: "Leaders' accurate evaluations and evidence from this monitoring inspection confirm that there is still work to be done.

"For example, pupils are not making strong progress in mathematics, and some underachievement remains.

"Teachers have taken account of the findings of the last inspection and increased the focus on developing pupils' number skills.

"However, they have concentrated on enabling pupils to complete tasks successfully by teaching a rule or short cut, rather than helping pupils develop their mathematical thinking and their understanding of what they are doing and why."

Inspectors said behaviour and attendance have improved and the school is "usually calm and orderly".

The school in Hinkshay Road, which caters for children with specialist education needs, receives support from a local leader of education and an attached adviser, who work with leaders to help with improvement and to check on teaching and learning.

Ms McGill added: "This support has been instrumental in helping Mount Gilbert to continue to move forwards.

"The local authority knows the school's strengths and weaknesses well and makes sure to check on the impact of initiatives through regular meetings of the 'raising achievement plan' monitoring group."

Lisa Lyon, headteacher of Mount Gilbert School, said: "We were pleased that the inspectors recognised the ongoing progress that has been made since their last visit in October 2015."

"Staff, governors and pupils have worked together to build on the improvements that have been commented on in each of our monitoring letters.

"We are confident that the school will continue to develop and are committed to building on this good progress in the months ahead."