Norton Canes High School told it still needs to improve
A high school in Staffordshire has been told it needs to improve after an inspection by Ofsted.
Norton Canes High School was given the status 'requiring improvement' after a visit by inspectors from the education watchdog.
The resulting report highlighted that students were not progressing well in maths and English and that youngsters weren't being pushed to reach their full potential.
However, the report did highlight that the behaviour of students was good.
In the report, written following the visit at the end of April and start of May, it states: "Achievement requires improvement because students' progress, including progress in English and mathematics, has been weak and fell further in 2013.
"Marking in many subjects does not provide enough guidance to help students improve and in some instances, expectations of what students can achieve are too low.
"The sixth form requires improvement because, although standards are rising, many students do not make the expected progress. They would benefit from more support when moving up from Year 11."
Among the positive aspects highlighted by inspectors was the progress of students, which they said has 'accelerated sharply'.
The report also said headteacher Sara Birchall 'enjoys the confidence of the school community' and has 'taken decisive action to deal with poor performance'.
Mrs Birchall has written to all parents at the school telling them about the inspection.
She said: "I would like to thank all pupils, staff, parents and governors who demonstrated a real pride in our school during the inspection.
"Inspectors noted that the progress of the students currently in the school has 'accelerated sharply and is now in line with expectation'.
"They reported that the school is rigorous in identifying and supporting those who arrive in school at low levels or who fall behind and they praised the decisive action taken to deal with poor performance.
"The sharp decline in exclusions was a real positive."
She added: "Our examination data does not yet fall in line with the national averages so we are not yet a good school. We will continue to work hard to improve areas identified by Ofsted and strive to achieve and exceed the national averages across all areas."
The school in Burntwood Road, Norton Canes currently has 422 pupils on roll.
It was given the same rating during an inspection early last year.
