Worthing school falls into special measures (From The Argus)

Worthing school falls into special measures

4:00pm Sunday 3rd February 2013 in News

A high school has been put into special measures after a damning report by inspectors.

A team from Ofsted said Worthing High School, which has just become an academy, was failing to help pupils achieve their potential.

Inspectors rated Worthing High as inadequate, the lowest level possible, in three out of four categories while the fourth was rated as “requires improvement” – the second lowest level.

Yesterday a spokeswoman for the school refused to comment until the inspection report was officially published on the Ofsted website on Tuesday at 9am.

She said headteacher Carolyn Dickinson would also not discuss the issue.

West Sussex county councillor Bob Smytherman called for the governors of the school to resign and said they should “hang their heads in shame”.

He said: “It is something we sadly all saw coming.

“The destabilisation of the whole academy process of the past 12 months has been distressing for parents, children and the local community as well as staff.

“You cannot do that to an organisation like a school without devastating consequences.

“It was never ready to support an academy.”

The report, which followed an inspection on December 12 and 13, criticised the school for poor standards of teaching.

Achievement of pupils, the quality of teaching and leadership and management were all given the lowest possible rating.

Inspectors judged the performance of pupils in English and maths, as well as the children’s reading and writing skills, as poor following the 18 hours they spent observing lessons.

James Ellis, a campaigns organiser for Unison, said: “This whole episode is sad but a complete vindication of everything we have been saying for almost a year.

"The obsession with changing the school’s structure has been a serious distraction from providing the staff and children with a decent environment to teach and learn in.”

The report comes just weeks after the school converted to an academy despite bitter opposition from some parents and staff.

The ten-month saga saw staff walk-outs and protests outside the gates before the move was confirmed in December.

The West Sussex Academy Alliance submitted a petition to West Sussex County Council in January asking it to cease its commitment to academies in the county.