Wolverhampton school celebrates coming out of special measures

A Wolverhampton primary school is celebrating coming out of special measures this week – two years after education chiefs declared it 'inadequate'.

Corpus Christi Catholic Primary Academy in Ashmore Park, Wednesfield, was congratulated by Ofsted bosses for making "significant" improvements in recent months.

In a letter to acting principal Julie Wardle, chief inspector Amanda Spielman said: "I know that the progress your school has made is the result of hard work and commitment on the part of many people.

"It is clear that your provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities and the Early Years provision have significantly improved. Furthermore I am delighted to note that pupils make rapid progress in reading due to your staff’s skills and enthusiasm.

"I am sure you will agree that the progress made by you and your team will benefit every pupil at the school. I wish you every success in your continuing drive for further improvement in the months and years ahead.”

The Ashmore Avenue school, which has 214 pupils aged 3-11, was previously visited by Ofsted in February 2018, when inspectors found it "inadequate and in need of improvement".

In the latest report, lead inspector Ann Pritchard said: “Pupils at Corpus Christi love to learn and show great pride in their work. They are keen to share their achievements with friends and visitors.

"The school’s Catholic virtues, such as, ‘truthful, compassionate, generous and loving’ are promoted extremely well by everyone. There is a strong community and family feeling within the school.

“For quite a long time, pupils were not achieving as well as they should. For example, in geography pupils have limited knowledge of locations outside Wolverhampton. In writing, some pupils use capital letters incorrectly.

"So leaders replanned the curriculum to match it to their high expectations of what pupils can achieve. This new planning and improved teaching are helping pupils to catch up quickly in all subjects. Reading is taught exceptionally well and is a key strength.”

Overall the school was judged to ‘require improvement’, with the behaviour, attitudes and personal development of pupils, leadership and management and Early Years provision all found to be ‘good’.

Councillor Dr Michael Hardacre, the council’s cabinet member for education and skills, said: "It’s fantastic to see Corpus Christi making such rapid progress which has seen it come out of special measures in double quick time and I look forward to hearing about further improvements at the school’s next inspection.

"In the meantime I would like to congratulate Julie Wardle and everyone connected with Corpus Christi on their hard work, and also thank our school improvement team and the multi-academy company for their continuing high quality support for the school.”

Mrs Wardle added: “We are very pleased with the outcome of the Ofsted report and proud of all the staff and children at Corpus.

“We have had a number of challenges to overcome and have been judged under two different Ofsted frameworks within a short period of time.

“Achieving a good grading in four out of the five inspection areas is a fantastic achievement and a reflection of the hard work and commitment of all the staff.”