Great Sankey High School praised as “Good”

EDUCATION watchdogs Ofsted have praised Warrington’s Great Sankey High School as a good school with personal development and welfare described as a strength of the school.
The judgement comes seven years after the last inspection in 2010 when the school was said to be “outstanding.”
Executive headteacher Jon Wright said: “The report is a very positive statement about our school and offers us a very clear mandate for further improvement, whilst reaffirming all of our plans to work more collaboratively with local primary colleagues, which will drive us positively towards recapturing the top grade in three years’ time.
“It seems to me under the current framework, the bar has been raised, which can only be good for students.”
During the last seven years, there has been a great deal of educational change, with new GCSE and A Level syllabuses and grading, new school measures for performance and changes to the inspection framework.
In their report, Ofsted said the school needed to improve the quality of teaching and learning by ensuring that:
*teachers more accurately meet the varying needs of pupils,
particularly the lower-attaining pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
*teachers focus on improving pupils’ spelling and literacy skills
in line with the school’s assessment policy.
*Continue to improve the quality of leadership and management by ensuring that leaders evaluate thoroughly the impact of their actions on pupils’ achievement and wider progress.
*Improve the attendance of the pupils who are entitled to free school meals and decrease the numbers of disadvantaged pupils who are persistently absent.
Headteacher Paula Crawley said: “This school remains excellent in so many ways and interestingly, the latest data came from the Department for Educaiton two days after the inspectors left.
“It shows a positive progress 8 score of +0.18, one of the best in Warrington, which is an excellent statement for the school and shows how well all categories of students are supported and perform in our school.”
The inspection came in the third week of the new academic year within the scope of a two-week timetable, which limited the evidence base for outstanding practice.
The school’s people-centred ethos, based on the individual child was clearly recognised, however, with greater emphasis on disadvantaged and SEND students in this framework, the school’s data, whilst seen as in-line with national norms, was not significantly above to merit the highest grade.
The school has also been coping with the impact of the Livewire leisure services development on its doorstep on one side and Warrington Borough Council’s request to increase to accommodate needed secondary places in West Warrington and develop the former Barrow Hall Primary School site on the other.
Chairman of governors Andy Bent said: “We are very proud of all of our students and their achievements. The school’s track record and student outcomes speak for themselves. Ofsted judge against a set framework, which becomes a real snapshot in a school our size. I am delighted so many positive things have been recognised, including how well governors know the school and how passionate we are. As leaders of the school, we will ensure that all areas for improvement are addressed, and that we continue to provide an excellent education to all our young people.”
The school boasted its best GCSE and A Level scores for a number of years this year.