A RADCLIFFE teaching establishment which was rated as one of the worst performing schools in the country has been put into special measures.

The move was taken by Ofsted inspectors at Radcliffe Hall CoE Primary, Bury Street, after being labelled ‘inadequate’ when measured against all five key indicators of performance which are effectiveness of leadership, quality of teaching, leaning and assessment, the pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare. outcomes for pupils and early years provision.

The school, which has new interim management and a new governing body at the helm said it is determined to return the school to becoming a top performing teaching establishment.

The inspection carried out before the summer break, when it had 339 pupils, slated a lack of training with middle leaders at the school unable to make an effective contribution that might turn the school around.

The curriculum failed to meet pupils needs and pupils’ cultural experiences remain underdeveloped. Meanwhile, the assessment information did not accurately identify pupils who were falling behind.

The inspectors said: “Teaching fails to meet pupils’ educational needs. As a result, pupils underachieve significantly. Too few pupils make the progress needed to achieve to the best of their abilities.

“Teachers do not have high enough expectations of what their pupils can achieve.”

The report points out that children from disadvantaged backgrounds made weak progress and their attainment compared poorly to that of other pupils nationally, while additional funding to support them was not used effectively.

Pupils told the inspectors that since the new interim headteachers had been appointed behaviour had improved but not among all pupils where there was still bullying and disruptive behaviour from other pupils

Attendance was below the national average with too many pupils having poor or irregular attendance, which in turn held back educational progress.

Standards had fallen since the previous inspection and progress in reading and writing at key stage 2 was in the bottom 20 per cent of schools nationally.

The new chairman of governor’s Mark Granby told the Bury Times: “Radcliffe Hall’s Ofsted report makes extremely difficult reading for the school community. However, the Interim Executive Board (IEB), that was appointed in mid-June, and the interim headteachers, who commenced their secondments to the school at the start of the summer term, would not disagree that the report reflected situation at the school at the time of the inspection.

“Understandably, parents are very concerned about the contents of the report and its implications for the school.

“Last Monday we met with the assistant director from the local education authority we met with a number of parents to reassure them of the absolute commitment of the IEB, the senior leaders and the local authority in bringing about rapid improvements and to ensure their voices are heard.

“Radcliffe Hall has wonderful children and parents who are clearly committed to the future of the school and we are moving forward with plans to make it a school that we can all be proud of.

“A forum is being established for parents to give them a clear voice in the development of the school and I am delighted in the commitment already coming from our parents in their messages to me. A clear priority will be the appointment of a permanent Headteacher for the school and we are in the process of appointing an exceptional leader who can build upon the work being undertaken by our interim heads.

“The Ofsted report provides stark evidence of how the school had been letting the children down and spells out what needs to be done in relation to improving leadership, teaching, pupils’ personal development and the early years provision.

“Clearly a lot of hard work that must be undertaken to improve the school, but I and my colleagues on the IEB are really excited about the prospect bringing about these improvements. We have the support of the Local Education Authority, the Bury Teaching School Alliance and the parents in our mission to make Radcliffe Hall a great school.”