Wolverhampton primary school fails to meet Ofsted demands

A school that was told it needs to improve by government inspectors has been warned it is failing to make the changes necessary to tackle its problems.

Dunstall Hill Primary School in Wolverhampton was given a grade three rating by Ofsted following an inspection in June, with teaching said to have slowed pupils' progress and governors criticised for being unclear about their roles.

The rating means the school is deemed to require improvement and saw a drop of one level from its previous 'good' inspection grade in 2009.

Ofsted returned to Dunstall Hill last month to check up on the school's progress, but inspectors concluded that senior leaders and governors were not taking effective action to remedy the issues outlined in the inspection.

In a letter sent to the school, Her Majesty's inspector Jacqueline Wordsworth said the school should take immediate action to review recruitment and child protection procedures and to act swiftly to strengthen governance.

She wrote: "Actions taken so far have not resulted in rapid improvement because the planned actions are not being followed up quickly enough or with sufficient rigour.

"Neither is there a clear and agreed overview of how activities will be monitored and evaluated."

The inspector added that in some classes, work given to more able pupils was not challenging enough, while the school's safeguarding practices fail to meet current guidelines.

The letter also noted that Wolverhampton City Council intends to carry out a full review of the school's leadership of safeguarding systems and governance to inform the level of support needed in the next school year.

The school in Dunstall Avenue, Whitmore Reans, is one of several across the city set to increase its capacity in an effort to cope with soaring demand for primary school places.

Should schools be notified of Ofsted inspections or should they be unplanned? Leave your comments below.

Under Wolverhampton City Council plans, it will double in size from 210 to 420 pupils next year after the completion of an extension.

Since former headteacher Bethan Francis retired earlier this year the school has been run by her former deputy, Diane Elcock, who took on the role of acting head.

Paul Brown, spokesman for Wolverhampton City Council, said: "The council is supporting the school's new leadership team as it brings about the required improvements identified in the inspection."

The school did not respond to the Express & Star's requests for comment.