Two Wigan schools once panned by Ofsted perform remarkable turnarounds

The Wings’ CE Trust have hailed the progression of St Mark’s CE Primary in Newtown and Leigh CE Primary which both joined the trust after being placed in special measures.

The trust formed in 2017 after Atherton St George’s, which also received a “good” rating from inspectors earlier this year, sponsored St Mark’s which had been placed in special measures back in 2015.

Leigh CE joined in 2018 after suffering the same fate from Ofsted – and it was judged to be “good” after an inspection in April this year.

Following its inspection in September, St Mark’s – based in Alexandra Street, – made it a hat-trick of good results for the Wigan-based multi-academy trust in 2023.

Good leadership, effective wellbeing strategies, strong curriculum and personal development as well as good special needs provisions were common themes in all three inspections this year, says the trust.

The CEO of The Wings’ CE Trust, Rachael Coulthard, said: "We are delighted that Ofsted has now visited all three of our schools to confirm that the children in our schools receive a high quality of education.

"We now have the fantastic outcomes that we know the schools deserve due to a lot of hard work that has taken place to get to this point and we are grateful to our governors and staff for all their determination to ‘create a better future’ for the children in our schools.”

According to the trust, each school can benefit from shared good practice and support from other schools in the trust to rapidly improve. They explained that it is easier for schools in the same trust to share resources, staff, curriculum expertise and training.

Chair of trustees, Andrea Atherton, said: “It is wonderful that Ofsted have recognised and rewarded the Wings’s CE Trust’s vision for our schools.

"In creating a better future we are child centred, have vibrant communities and work together to maintain our commitment to being inclusive.

"Every member of our team has made a difference to children’s lives and the three ‘good’ judgements are a reflection of this throughout the trust.”