A Farnworth high school has been ordered to improve after its latest inspection by the education watchdog.

Mount St Joseph on Greenland Road was inspected by Ofsted on October 24 and 25.

Inspectors rated the school "good" in two areas and "requires improvement" in another two areas.

Overall, its ranking is "requires improvement" after previously being rated "good" in March 2018.

According to inspectors, both the quality of education and the leadership and management "requires improvement" while behaviour and attitudes and personal development are "good".

The report states "Mount St Joseph is a friendly and welcoming school" with "pupils happy to attend each day".

It said: “There are strong relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils understand that staff are there to support them.

“Pupils follow the school’s routines and structures diligently.”

The school was praised for the increase in attendance and behaviour.

The report said: “In most subjects, the school has identified what pupils need to learn and the order in which this content should be taught. Most teachers have secure subject knowledge.

“The school has successfully raised attendance rates for pupils, including for those who are disadvantaged and those with SEND.

“Pupils understand the benefits of attending school regularly. In lessons, pupils behave well.

“The school encourages parents and carers to be involved in their child’s education.

“The school ensures that there are sufficient opportunities for pupils to gain a rounded view of the world.”

However the report also states ways in which the school needs to improve.

It states: “The school has secure processes in place to accurately identify any additional needs that pupils may have.

“However, the information that teachers receive about pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is variable in its quality.

“This makes it difficult for some teachers to adapt their delivery of the curriculum effectively for these pupils.

“The school has not ensured that the curriculum is sufficiently ambitious for all pupils.

“This means that some pupils miss out on learning a broad range of subjects in Key Stage 3.

“The school should ensure that the curriculum is as broad and ambitious as the national curriculum for all pupils.

“The school is not adept at using reading assessment information to identify the precise gaps in pupils’ reading knowledge.

“As a result, some pupils do not read as well as they should, and this prevents them from learning the wider curriculum successfully.

“The school should ensure that staff have the expertise to be able to identify and address the gaps in pupils’ reading knowledge rapidly.

“In some subjects, assessment methods do not enable teachers to check well enough on what pupils have learned.

“This means that some pupils develop gaps in their knowledge that remain unchecked.

“The school should ensure that its assessment systems are designed to check whether pupils have learned the key knowledge defined in the curriculum.

“The school, including governors, does not evaluate the impact of its decisions or actions closely enough.

“Consequently, the school is unclear about the weaknesses in the quality of education that pupils receive.

“The school should ensure that it carefully monitors the impact of its actions and uses this information to better inform its school improvement priorities.”

In response to the report, headteacher, Mrs Alexandra Devany, said: “We remain very proud of our school and our students and thank our parents and carers for their support.

“We are really proud of the recent inspection, despite being disappointed by its overall judgement.

“Inspectors recognised some key aspects of our school of which we are particularly proud.

“This included the high expectations we have for our students and what inspectors described as 'a myriad of opportunities to support students' wider development'. 

“Above all, however, we were pleased that inspectors acknowledged that 'pupils are happy' in our school and 'safeguarding is effective', which are both testament to the care, efforts and hard work displayed each day by the staff at Mount St Joseph.

“There is of course always room for development, and we will continue to work tirelessly to give our students the best quality of education possible.”

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