Wolverhampton's Kings School slips from good to inadequate in new Ofsted report

The Kings CE School in Regis Road, Tettenhall, was given the inadequate rating by Ofsted following an inspection in March this year.

Inspectors rated the school as ‘inadequate’ in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, the personal development, behaviour and welfare of pupils and in the outcomes for pupils, following an inspection in March this year.

The school was also rated as ‘requiring improvement’ in the effectiveness of leadership and management and in its 16 to 19 study programmes.

Click here to download the full report

There are currently 729 pupils on the school roll, 99 of which are in 16 to 19 study programmes. Previously, in 2013, the school was given a ‘good’ rating in all five assessed areas.

Now, the principal of the school, James Ludlow, has written to parents over the report, and said he is ‘extremely disappointed with the overall outcome of the inspection’.

The report says: “The performance of the school has declined significantly since the previous inspection. Despite some improvements, outcomes for current pupils remain inadequate.

Inspectors stated that: “The quality of teaching is too inconsistent. Too often, teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are not high enough.”

“Historically, leaders, including the governing body and the local authority, did not intervene successfully to improve the quality of teaching and arrest the decline in pupils’ outcomes.”

However, the report does say: “The new principal has brought ambition and drive to the school. He has restored order. He has begun to introduce new systems and new staffing structures. This has led to some improvement in the quality of teaching, and to leadership and management. This is beginning to enable pupils to do better.”

“Safeguarding is effective. The new principal has brought stability to the school. As a result, safeguarding policies and practices are secure.”

Now The school has been given a set of improvements to make to get back on track.

Writing to parents on Thursday, Mr Ludlow said: “The Governors and I feel strongly that the report is not reflective of the school which we are all a part of and as a result. We have made a robust challenge to Ofsted and have made a formal complaint about the inspection process. I have been the principal of this school for just over a year now and am immensely proud of the work that we do. Our students are our greatest asset; we are a school that has a strong vision and values; we have very high standards and expectations of everyone and we are working extremely hard to ensure that every child leaves our school fully prepared for the future with the best possible qualifications and a belief that anything is possible.”