A STALYBRIDGE secondary school is celebrating after being taken out of special measures by Ofsted inspectors.
And pupils at Copley Academy played a huge role in talking up the work its teachers and governors had put in.
The Huddersfield Road establishment had been in special measures after being deemed inadequate by the Government body.
However, plenty of hard work under principal Ruth Craven’s leadership has seen much of that ill feeling turn around.
In their report, inspectors state: “After the previous full inspection, pupils, staff, parents and carers lost confidence in the leadership of the school. However, over the last two years, leaders, trust representatives and those responsible for governance have made great strides in putting Copley Academy back together.
“Pupils told inspectors that they are happy and proud to attend Copley Academy.
“Older pupils are keen for others to know how much the school has improved in the last two years. “They take part in extra-curricular activities such as basketball, badminton and music club.
Pupils value the school’s ‘LGBTQ club’.
“They explained that being part of this club supports them to be proud and open about their sexual or gender identity.
“Leaders have raised teachers’ expectations of the standards that pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), can achieve.
“Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, leaders have maintained sight of their vision to provide a better education for pupils and restored the faith of many stakeholders.
“A welcome period of stability is ensuring that pupils, parents and staff have greater confidence that the improvements at Copley Academy are sustainable and here to stay.”
After such a scathing report previously, this latest one – which was published earlier this month – has turned many worries on their head.
Now, Copley Academy is a place where pupils can speak out about their worries.
The report adds: “Leaders have ensured that there is a culture in which pupils feel they can share their worries and concerns with staff.
“Staff receive appropriate safeguarding training regularly. They are alert to the signs that may indicate a pupil is at risk from harm.
“For instance, staff have a strong awareness of the signs that may point to a pupil being at risk of exploitation by county lines gangs.”
The Ofsted verdict has delighted Mrs Craven, who said: “It’s fantastic Ofsted has recognised the progress we’ve made and it’s testament to the hard work of our wonderful staff and students that we have been able to achieve this, especially given all the challenges of the pandemic.
“We’re looking forward to continuing our improvement journey together in the coming months and years and I really believe that this academy can be judged as at least Good in all areas in our next inspection.”
Inspectors noted there is still work to do, particularly when it comes to reading, as they noted: “There remain weaknesses in how curriculums are delivered. This prevents pupils from achieving as well as they should.
“In the past, leaders have not adopted a rigorous and systematic approach to developing pupils’ fluency in reading.
“As a result, many pupils, particularly in key stage 4, have fallen behind and not received the support they have needed to catch up quickly.
“This prevents these pupils from achieving as well as they should across the curriculum.
“Leaders should ensure that they accurately diagnose the gaps in pupils’ reading knowledge and that staff are well trained to support pupils to read with greater fluency, confidence and accuracy.”
Despite that, Brendan Loughran, chief executive of Great Academies Education Trust, which runs Copley, insisted it will continue to improve.
He said: “The judgements in this report reflect the transformation that has taken place at Copley Academy.
“There are no surprises in the report and we look forward to supporting Ruth and the staff on the academy’s next stage of improvement.”