County council criticised by Ofsted over inspection of Abingdon's Fitzharrys School

6:00pm Saturday 9th March 2013 in News Photograph of the Author By Fran Bardsley, covering Education, East Oxford and Cowley. Call me on 01865 425439

OXFORDSHIRE County Council has been criticised by Ofsted after a visit to a school judged to have “serious weaknesses”.

Fitzharrys School, in Northcourt Road, Abingdon, was given the judgment in October, but when inspectors returned last month it was praised for the work it had done.

But while Fitzharrys was told there was “a determined focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning” and its school improvement plan “tightly focused”, inspector Christine Raeside said the local authority’s statement of action was “not fit for purpose”.

A statement of action sets out what a Local Education Authority will do to help a school with serious weaknesses.

She said: “It is not always clear enough in setting criteria or in establishing milestones for success against a tight timetable.”

Headteacher Jonathan Dennett put the lack of clarity down to the quick turnaround required for providing the statement of action.

He said it had been updated and now matched Fitzharrys’ own planning.

He added: “We have had good practical support in school prior to the Ofsted report and particularly since then – the statement of action is one thing, actions that are taking place is another.”

A local authority school improvement officer is working with Fitzharrys on a weekly basis, while an advisory teacher who is a specialist in maths is working part time until the end of the academic year to strengthen teaching in the subject – an area highlighted by Ofsted.

Ms Raeside said there were “early encouraging signs of improving attainment” in maths. The school has also entered into a two-year partnership with the “outstanding” rated Faringdon Community College, a designated leader in education.

Mr Dennett said this involved senior and middle leaders from both schools working together, with Fitzharrys staff visiting Faringdon and Faringdon staff visiting Fitzharrys.

Schools which are judged to have serious weaknesses face a full re-inspection within 18 months and will have three monitoring inspections during that period.

Mr Dennett said he was “very pleased” by the comments from the monitoring report and described the atmosphere in school as “buzzing”.

He said: “It is a really happy, purposeful place that’s focused completely on teaching and learning.”

Oxfordshire County Council spokesman Marcus Mabberley said the judgment had been made using an earlier version of the council’s statement for action.

He said: “The statement is now in the process of being updated in conjunction with the school.

“It was the previous gaps in detail in the earlier version of the statement for action which led Ofsted to rule it as being unfit for purpose, rather than the proposed course of action offered to help improve the provision of education at the school.

“It was deemed matters such as the timings in the original statement for action around specific dates against actions and outcomes were not clear enough.”

Cabinet member for education Melinda Tilley was disappointed but said it had been rectified.

Comments (5)

7:27am Sun 10 Mar 13

Feelingsmatter says...

"Headteacher Jonathan Dennett put the lack of clarity down to the quick turnaround required for providing the statement of action. " Unbelievable; surely it's their job to know how to write stuff like this. It's a shame that a school which did so well under the previous head teacher has sunk so rapidly. The same happened with John Mason's previous leadership. Happily now JMS is flying high again, and I hope the Fitz will too, although perhaps with a new head teacher?
"Headteacher Jonathan Dennett put the lack of clarity down to the quick turnaround required for providing the statement of action. " Unbelievable; surely it's their job to know how to write stuff like this. It's a shame that a school which did so well under the previous head teacher has sunk so rapidly. The same happened with John Mason's previous leadership. Happily now JMS is flying high again, and I hope the Fitz will too, although perhaps with a new head teacher? Feelingsmatter

9:02am Sun 10 Mar 13

Lord Palmerstone says...

Lot of words here and not easy to follow, but could it be summed up in the sentence "When Oxfordshire succumbed to the Politics of Failure and abandoned grammar schools it destroyed the life chances of generations of young people from families unable to afford independent education?
Lot of words here and not easy to follow, but could it be summed up in the sentence "When Oxfordshire succumbed to the Politics of Failure and abandoned grammar schools it destroyed the life chances of generations of young people from families unable to afford independent education? Lord Palmerstone

9:40am Sun 10 Mar 13

lookingfromhere says...

And there is also a line of thought suggesting that all the best teachers are being recruited by the new academies, who by their very existence are upsetting the pay scale?
On another note, if only the "G" was the only thing missing from Abingdon, two more shops announcing their closure this week ! can anyone firm up on the rumour that Sport Direct have one of the new large units in the precinct and that a well know, high street Jeweler has the old "A" plan shop in High St?
And there is also a line of thought suggesting that all the best teachers are being recruited by the new academies, who by their very existence are upsetting the pay scale? On another note, if only the "G" was the only thing missing from Abingdon, two more shops announcing their closure this week ! can anyone firm up on the rumour that Sport Direct have one of the new large units in the precinct and that a well know, high street Jeweler has the old "A" plan shop in High St? lookingfromhere

9:43am Mon 11 Mar 13

Man on the Green says...

Another lamentable failure to lay at the door of the senior management of the OCC, where the level of incompetence is staggering. Poor legal advice on a series of dossiers, poor leadership across the board, chaotic administration in the majority of services.

It really is time to get rid of the rotten apples at the top of the OCC management. The Chief Executive is a dismal failure, whose failures are being carried (at great cost moreover) inter alia by an entire generation of schoolchildren, who have been lamentably let down by her inability to turn the county's failing schools around. She must go.
Another lamentable failure to lay at the door of the senior management of the OCC, where the level of incompetence is staggering. Poor legal advice on a series of dossiers, poor leadership across the board, chaotic administration in the majority of services. It really is time to get rid of the rotten apples at the top of the OCC management. The Chief Executive is a dismal failure, whose failures are being carried (at great cost moreover) inter alia by an entire generation of schoolchildren, who have been lamentably let down by her inability to turn the county's failing schools around. She must go. Man on the Green

11:16pm Tue 12 Mar 13

Jacks son says...

Lookingfromhere....d
on't forget to mention the shops that have OPENED in abingdon in the last few days and weeks too; otherwise people will think you are being inaccurate and unreasonably negative...rather than accurate and reasonably positive. If you aren't accurate..what you say loses credibility.
Lookingfromhere....d on't forget to mention the shops that have OPENED in abingdon in the last few days and weeks too; otherwise people will think you are being inaccurate and unreasonably negative...rather than accurate and reasonably positive. If you aren't accurate..what you say loses credibility. Jacks son

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