LEADERS of The Skipton Academy believe they are ‘on the cusp’ of taking the school out of special measures following a positive monitoring inspection by Ofsted.

The Gargrave Road school, which was put into special measures in June last year, following a damning Ofsted report which graded it ‘inadequate’ in all areas, has just had its second, six monthly, monitoring inspection.

In a letter to the school, Ofsted inspector, Steve Shaw, said ‘leaders and managers are taking effective action towards the removal of special measures’, that the educational trust’s statement of action is ‘fit for purpose’, and that the school’s own improvement plan is also ‘fit for purpose’.

Following last month’s two day inspection, carried out by Mr Shaw and a colleague, they found the principal, Richard McManus, and other senior leaders had ‘maintained their determination to improve pupils’ outcomes and further strengthen their personal development, behaviour and welfare’. Mr McManus had continued to take ‘difficult decisions so that the quality of leadership and of teaching continues to rise.’

At the time of their visit, it was noted that the school, which has 341 pupils on its roll, was making effective use of external support provided by others. That support had helped in growing the skills of senior staff who were now increasingly less reliant on it.

There had been improvements in the curriculum, a greater consistency in the quality of teaching, and pupils welcomed more demanding work.

Attendance rates had ‘markedly improved’ while the number of pupils on a fixed term exclusion had reduced from a ‘worryingly high level’ to the national average, with just one exclusion this school year.

Mr McManus said the school believed it was ‘on the cusp’ of coming out of special measures. “We are delighted that Ofsted have recognised the improvements in many areas that the academy has made notably in the greater consistency in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and that lessons are more challenging than ever,” he said.

“It is fantastic that the efforts of students to show greater pride in their work, the academy and their attitudes to learning have all been recognised by the Ofsted team. These improved attitudes have led to a massive reduction in fixed period exclusions, only one all year at the time we were inspected, which is again evidence of the culture and climate for learning being right now across he academy. This is further evidenced by our success in closing the gap between the achievement and attendance of disadvantaged pupils compared to other pupils.”

Mr McManus said improvements were based on sustainable and long term approaches which would ensure further improvements in the coming months and years.

“Considering this is only our second monitoring visit this degree of progress is something that our pupils, parents and staff can be very proud of and while we know that we need to continue to improve in some areas we are definitely building a school that the community can be proud of,” he said.

“We are determined across the academy that the improvements will continue and in the near future we will be able to celebrate further successes with our stakeholders and the wider community of Skipton.”

Robert Bellfield, Chief Executive of Craven Educational Trust said “The trust is delighted that The Skipton Academy is making excellent progress under Richard’s leadership and thanks staff, pupils parents and carers for their hard work in making this happen.”