Canon Slade School 'requires improvement' says Ofsted

Canon Slade in Bradshaw was visited by Ofsted  in November and was found to require improvement across all areas.

The delay in publication comes after the school complained about the outcome and called for a fresh inspection, but this was refused this week.

The school is one of the borough's best achieving schools in Bolton based on GCSE grades.

Among the issues identified by inspectors is a suggestion the achievement of pupils drops off at GCSE and A-Level and another suggestion the "casual" use of racist and sexist language by pupils is "common" outside the classroom.

Some students agree the teachers deal with this language appropriately, but other students disagree, according to the report.

The report stated: "Outside of lessons some pupils and students describe d the casual use of sexist racist and homophobic language among friends as common. Leaders have
not created a culture in school where the use of this type of language is not
tolerated."

READ MORE: Head of St Joseph's RC High School calls for action on e-cigs.

On the shortcomings of the PSHE curriculum, it adds: "The pupils and students are not prepared well enough for life in a diverse, modern society."

But Ofsted inspectors found: "Leaders at Canon Slade High School have high expectations of what pupils and students in the sixth form can and should achieve . Most pupils and students enjoy their time at school and want to succeed Overall, their behaviour in lessons reflects leaders’ high standards.

"Most pupils demonstrate positive attitudes to learning."

And it found the school wanted "all pupils should experience life in all its fullness" through extra-curricular activities.

Liz Nicholls, the chair of governors, said the assessment was not "an accurate picture of the work of our pupils and our staff".

However, all of the recommendations were actioned regardless, Ms Nicholls said in a statement.

She said: "We were surprised and disappointed by Ofsted’s judgements about our school. Whilst we embrace the report’s recommendations and have already actioned all of them, we do not believe the report gives either a fair or an accurate picture of the work of our pupils and our staff."

She added: "We remain very proud of our school and our pupils and believe Canon Slade is a good school. There is of course always room for improvement and we will continue to work tirelessly to give our pupils the best quality of education possible."

Tania Lewyckyj, the chief executive of The Bishop Fraser Trust, suggested the assessment was a result of a change to a new framework since 2012, when the school was rated as outstanding.

READ MORE: Bolton Muslim Girls School 'requires improvement' says Ofsted.

St James CE High School celebrates first class Ofsted report

Ms Lewyckyj said: "Anyone who visits or attends Canon Slade School may be bemused by this report and the grading. We knew Ofsted were significantly reducing the number of outstanding grades awarded (approximately 90 per cent of church secondary schools have lost their outstanding grades on this new framework) and we shared this with parents and staff. 

"Despite the grade awarded, we believe Canon Slade School is a good school with amazing young people, supportive families and a great staff team."

Parents received the report and a letter signed by Ms Nicholls, as well as the chair of The Bishop Fraser Trust Lesley Durosomo.

Usually, schools rated as requires improvement receive another inspection within two years.

Here are the school's statements in full:

Liz Nicholls

"We were surprised and disappointed by Ofsted’s judgements about our school. Whilst we embrace the report’s recommendations and have already actioned all of them, we do not believe the report gives either a fair or an accurate picture of the work of our pupils and our staff. 

"Both our latest GCSE results and our attendance figures put us significantly above national figures and in the top 20 per cent of schools. Again, against national figures, pupil progress is positive. In England 4.5 per cent of 16–17 year olds are classed as NEET (Not in Education, Training and Employment), at Canon Slade the figure is 0 per cent. Our sixth form equally continues to maintain its success, with students averaging a grade B across all of their A Levels and a Distinction* in their vocational courses. 90 per cent of our sixth form students progress into higher education or employment compared to a national picture of 79 per cent.  

"In contrast to the published report, inspectors' feedback at the end of the inspection was that they had not seen any evidence of poor behaviour, either in lessons or in unstructured time. They also stated that they believed our curriculum was an emerging strength of the school.

"We remain very proud of our school and our pupils and believe Canon Slade is a good school. There is of course always room for improvement and we will continue to work tirelessly to give our pupils the best quality of education possible."

Tania Lewyckyj

"Anyone who visits or attends Canon Slade School may be bemused by this report and the grading. We knew Ofsted were significantly reducing the number of outstanding grades awarded (approximately 90 per cent of church secondary schools have lost their outstanding grades on this new framework) and we shared this with parents and staff. 

"Despite the grade awarded, we believe Canon Slade School is a good school with amazing young people, supportive families and a great staff team. The headteacher and her leadership team are rigorous on school improvement. External advisers also share this opinion.

"When the school joined the trust there was a great deal to do and we were delighted to appoint Karen Sudworth. There have been significant improvements since then. It was frustrating the Ofsted team were unable to report on these improvements under the new framework. 

"The school will continue to focus on its core principles and has already addressed a significant number of the areas raised in the School Development Plan. Our aim is to enable our children to achieve and flourish in an ever changing and more complex world and we feel the school and the staff have all the right ingredients to do this."

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.