IMPROVEMENTS had been made at a failing West Somerset school, but not enough, a Government education watchdog has said.
Ofsted inspector Rachel Hesketh visited Minehead Middle School to check on it following an inspection in January of last year which rated it ‘inadequate’.
Ms Hesketh said: “Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but more work is necessary for the school to be no longer judged as having serious weaknesses.”
The school is part of the Beacon Education Trust, which is merging with the Bath and Wells Multi Academy Trust (BWMAT) after being served with ‘termination warning notices’ in February, 2023, and in September, 2022, for Minehead Middle School and Minehead First School.
The merger is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Ms Hesketh said several new staff had joined the school since the 2023 inspection, including headteacher Laura Mackie, who was appointed last September.
There was also a new deputy headteacher and an assistant headteacher, meaning a new leadership team was in place.
Ms Hesketh said: “This has provided improved capacity for leadership, especially with a focus on behaviour, inclusion, and pastoral care.
“The SENDCo took up post in January, 2023. In addition, new subject leaders in English and mathematics have joined, and the pastoral team has grown in capacity.”
She said the new leadership had started to bring stability to the school after a period of turbulence, but staff recruitment remained a significant barrier to improvement and there was still a high level of absences, some long-term, resulting in teachers providing a lot of cover, which they found exhausting.
Ms Hesketh said school leaders had focused on making sure the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) were better met.
Staff were now better informed about how to support SEND pupils and those with the highest needs were prioritised.
Ms Hesketh said: “The trust has supported the school to establish the ‘connect room’. This provides specialist support for pupils.
“The school identifies specific interventions to support pupils. This was not previously in place.
“This includes helping those pupils who are in the early stages of reading to improve their phonics knowledge.
“Adaptation for pupils with SEND is in place but it is not done well across the curriculum.
“The school knows there is more to do to ensure that the needs of all pupils with SEND are met more cohesively.”
She said the middle school had been working with an external behaviour hub and involving all stakeholders to implement a plan for improving behaviour, which meant pupils’ needs were better met and there had been a marked reduction in suspensions since last year.
There had also been a reduction in low-level poor behaviour which prevented other pupils from learning.
Ms Hesketh said her monitoring inspection was not to grade the school’s overall effectiveness, but to identify and report on its progress.
Her report highlighted to the school and parents any improvements school leaders had made since the January, 2023, inspection.