High school told it ‘requires improvement’ amid gaps in pupils’ learning

A high school has been told it needs to improve following a visit by Ofsted inspectors. Despite its ‘good’ rating for three key aspects at the school, inspectors found that the quality of education – and therefore ‘overall effectiveness’ – of Reddish Vale High School in Stockport ‘requires improvement’.

The inspection found that because the Key Stage 3 curriculum, for Years 7 to 9, was still being developed ‘some pupils do not achieve as highly as they should because they do not learn subject knowledge to sufficient depth’ – leaving them unprepared for the higher years.

The report states: “Leaders are currently in the process of strengthening the curriculum in Key Stage 3 to ensure that it is as suitably broad and ambitious as the national curriculum. To this end, in some subjects, leaders are still finalising what they want pupils to learn and the order in which they should learn it.

“Where leaders are less clear about what they want pupils to learn, pupils’ learning is disconnected. This means that some pupils in key stage 3 do not progress as well through the curriculum as they should.”

They also noted that while ‘leaders are prioritising reading’ the current systems for identifying struggling readers are insufficient.

“They do not enable teachers to pinpoint with accuracy which aspects of pupils’ reading knowledge are missing,” says the report. “This means that some older pupils do not read as well as they should. This affects how well these pupils progress through the curriculum.”

Inspectors did however note many positives about the 950-pupil school, which was formerly Reddish Vale Technology College and judged ‘inadequate’ in its previous inspection. It is now part of the South Manchester Learning Trust and run by headteacher Linda Hanson.

They said that in recent years the place has been ‘transformed’ for pupils into ‘a calm, happy and safe place to be’, with pupils – who ‘treat each other well’ and ‘accept each other’s differences’ – describing it as ‘a haven’ and ‘somewhere that they feel they belong’.

The report says: “Teachers expect pupils to behave well and achieve their best. In lessons, pupils display positive attitudes to learning. Relationships between teachers and pupils are based on mutual respect.

“The majority of pupils spoke positively about the improvements that leaders have made to the school. For example, the quality of education that pupils receive is much stronger now than in the past.”

Safeguarding arrangements were found to be effective with staff ‘well trained to spot the signs that pupils may be at risk of harm’ and pastoral staff working effectively ‘to help manage any safeguarding concerns’.

The Manchester Evening News has approached the school for a comment.

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