Wigan primary school placed in special measures

A primary school has been placed in special measures by education inspectors.

Ofsted visited Holy Family Catholic Primary School in Platt Bridge and judged it to be “inadequate”.

It was a drop from the “good” rating it received at its previous inspection in 2012.

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The Wigan Street school was criticised by the team of inspectors in several areas.

The report states: “Senior leaders and governors have failed to bring about the improvements required following the last inspection. Consequently, all aspects of the school have declined from being good to now being inadequate.

“Pupils are not making the progress they should and are not reaching the standards of which they are capable. They are not being prepared adequately for the next stage of their education and their future life chances are being restricted.”

The inspectors said senior leaders showed “a lamentable lack of ambition” for pupils and high staff turnover meant some children had been taught by six different teachers in one year.

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They found standards at the school had declined, especially in the past two years, and in 2016 the proportion of pupils reaching the expected level in writing was a third of the national average. The progress made by middle-ability pupils aged seven to 11 in reading and maths was in the lowest 10 per cent nationally, as was the progress in writing for every level of ability.

Pupils’ behaviour in lessons was “not good enough” and they showed “little thirst for knowledge”. There were concerns about bullying at the school.

The report said: “In interviews with inspectors and in their responses to the online questionnaire, a considerable number of pupils said that they had been bullied and did not feel safe in the school. Parents also expressed concerns about bullying and how it is tackled.”

A host of recommendations were made by the Ofsted inspectors for how the school can improve.

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