The King's School praised for improving its Ofsted rating

Inspectors visited the King's Church of England School in Tettenhall last month and highlighted a number of improvements that have taken place in the last 18 months.

They found that since the school's previous inspection in March 2017 headteacher James Ludlow and his team had 'acted quickly to improve the standard of education across the school'.

Staff have redesigned the curriculum to better match pupils' abilities, needs and career aspirations. As a result, their progress was improving, especially at Key Stage 3, and attendance rates were also up, while provision at sixth form had improved and was now judged to be good.

Lead inspector Lois Kelly found that sixth-formers' outcomes were good in vocational subjects and had improved in academic subjects, with pupils benefiting from opportunities to develop work-related skills.

School chiefs had also strengthened the positive ethos of the school, with pupils from different cultural backgrounds and faiths working well together. Inspectors found there was a 'real sense of community' about the school.

As well as showing impressive drive, senior staff and governors had provided 'stable leadership which has had a positive impact on the effectiveness of the school'. Teaching was improving, with leaders knowing where teaching was strong and where it needed to develop.

Inspectors also praised the school’s work with the council to raise standards further. This had led to improvements in the provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

Overall, Ofsted judged the school to be Good in two of the five inspection areas, and Requires Improvement in the other three.

Mr Ludlow said: "We are delighted that Ofsted have recognised the significant and rapid improvements that have been made across all areas of the school.

"We are particularly pleased they were able to see that we have strengthened the positive ethos of the school, which is underpinned by Christian and British values, and that pupils from different cultural backgrounds and faiths work well together."

Councillor Lynne Moran, cabinet member for education and skills, said: "This is a very positive step forward for the King's Church of England School, which has made great progress in the last 18 months.

"Not only have the efforts of James Ludlow and his team helped bring the school out of special measures but it is now rated Good in two of the five inspection areas, and I hope it won't be long before the school is rated Good, or even Outstanding, overall."