Education watchdog's good report for popular Wigan high school

Standish High was rated as “good” in November 2014 and has since converted to an academy, becoming part of Mosaic Academy Trust in 2017.

Ofsted inspectors returned for the first time in October to carry out a monitoring visit and in their report published this week, they said Standish High “continues to be a good school”.

They found pupils behaved “well”, were “polite and friendly” and could speak to an adult if they had any concerns.

Bullying “rarely happens” and most pupils said staff would address it quickly, while they were also “confident” staff would take action if pupils used unacceptable language.

Lead inspector Linda Emmett wrote: “Pupils strive to live up to ‘The Standish Way’. This outlines leaders’ high expectations for pupils to become successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens.

“Pupils enjoy a range of clubs and activities, such as sports and reading clubs. Pupils value the ‘LGBT club’ that provides a voice for the school’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.”

The curriculum was described as “well planned” and Ofsted found pupils “achieve well across the school”.

Most pupils studied a creative subject at key stage four, but the inspectors noted they did not learn some aspects of the curriculum deeply enough in a small number of these subjects.

Teachers had a “strong knowledge” of the subjects they taught, had designed curriculum plans outlining what children needed to learn and when, and checked pupils’ learning regularly.

The special educational needs co-ordinator used “a range of effective strategies to identify the needs of pupils with SEND” and gave staff “detailed information”.

Governors and trustees were “ambitious” for the school and safeguarding arrangements were “effective”.

Ms Emmett wrote: “Leaders provide pupils with opportunities to become well-rounded citizens. Pupils learn about respect, diversity and challenging prejudice through a well-sequenced and age-appropriate personal, social, health education curriculum. Pupils are accepting and respectful of people’s differences. They benefit from a range of guidance to prepare for the next stage of education, employment or training.”

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 for your first month. Try us today by clicking here