As Vice-Chair of Governors at Longton High, I am delighted to report to everyone at Pitsnpots that, just before half term, Ofsted visited to carry out a 2 day inspection, and the result was great! The actual judgement from Ofsted was "good". This in itself doesn't sound too exciting, but when you consider it's only one judgement below "outstanding", it shows just what good teaching and learning is going on at Longton High, despite the difficult circumstances it finds itself in.Here are a few quotes from the Inspector's letter:
"The overall effectiveness of how creative learning is developed was judged to be good".
Achievements and Standards
"Results in Key Stage 3 have risen sharply from 2004, and in 2008 they met the school's challenging targets. Standards at Key Stage 4 have also improved, with vocational courses in the creative specialist subjects supporting students to overcome a range of barriers to learning and to make good progress overall."
Quality of the Curriculum
"Innovative timetable arrangements enable talented Year 7 students to learn alongside high performing students in Year 8, to accelerate their progress in science, for example.
Extra-curriculur activities such as a street dance group are exploiting the performing arts expertise. They are also enabling students from different backgrounds to collaborate well and build their communication skills as they pass on their skills and enthusiasm to primary school pupils."
Leadership and Management
"Leadership and management are promoting and embedding creative learning well..... they see it as the most effective way to raise standards, promote inclusion and community cohesion, and to maintain a high level of commitment to continuous improvement across the whole staff in the face of students' increasingly challenging needs and suddenly falling rolls as a result of the school's planned closure."
Equality and Diversity
"The school promotes equality and diversity well. The gap between the standards reached by students from minority ethnic heritages has been reduced. Lesson planning consciously considers the range of learning styles that need to be accommodated. "
On behalf of Pitsnpots bloggers, I would like to publicly congratulate the Headteacher and every member of staff at Longton High on this fantastic Ofsted report. I would also like to thank them for all their hard work, commitment and loyalty to the school, in what are very stressful and uncertain times.
What is absolutely certain is that the LA needs to get behind these staff, to support them fully in securing their future. There are now positive signs that this is starting to happen. This result shows that Longton High has some fantastic staff who fully deserve the support of the Local Authority.
And let's not forget the kids in all of this. They too did fantastically, many of them spoke directly to the Inspectors, and students also impressed the Inspectors in the lessons they observed. Their parents should be proud of them.
To all Longton High parents and students out there - be proud of your school. It might be closing, but it's doing well and we have an Ofsted result to prove it. Well done to everyone! Please feel free to add messages of support and congratulations....
