Nelson school’s now in different class

11:36am Tuesday 5th August 2008

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A SCHOOL in Nelson which was deemed to be failing less than two years ago has achieved a remarkable turnaround it its fortunes.

Staff and governors at Great Marsden St John’s Primary have pulled together over the last 20 months to ensure the Trent Road school is back on track after a damning inspection by education watchdog Ofsted.

Back in November 2006 inspectors were not happy with either the quality of teaching, leadership or pupils’ achievement and placed the school in ‘special measures’.

But now thanks to the efforts of headteacher Lesley Fitzpatrick and fellow teachers, and the support of governor’s chairman Glenn Tunbridge and colleagues, the school is now said to be “improving rapidly” and is out of special measures. Garry Jones, the lead inspector who visited the Nelson school in early July said in his report that the school already ‘had a number of good features’ and was on course to make good progress.

He added: “The headteacher has a clear vision for the development of the school.

“The expanded senior leadership team has come together well over the last 12 months to establish effective systems for monitoring, evaluating and developing the key aspects of the school’s provision.

“The whole staff are committed to improvement and are working hard to bring this about.

“The result of this is that the inadequate progress that pupils were making has been remedied and the overall quality of teaching has improved.”

The major changes were not without hiccups, immediately following the special mea-sures designation, according to Mr Jones.

He said: “Significant staff changes and absence hindered the initial progress, but the staffing situation has been stabilised and the school should start the new school year with a full complement of staff.

“The governing body has also undergone a trans-formation. They are well informed of the strengths and priorities for development within the school.

“An effective committee structure is in place and the governors are supporting and challenging the school effectively.”

The inspector has also praised the personal dev-elopment opportunities avail-able for pupils and the friendly relationships which are fostered in and out of classes.

Mr Jones was also impressed with the cont-ribution which youngsters make to their community through church events, musical productions, sporting fixtures and charity fund-raising.

The level of pupil attainment has risen now so that they now reach average standards at both Key Stages One and Two.