Former head Simon Murphy left before the damning inspection

by Jamie Bullen

Teaching at one of Canterbury’s biggest secondary schools has been labelled “inadequate” after it was placed into special measures by government inspectors.

The Chaucer School received the lowest grading in an Ofsted report after inspectors visited the Spring Lane school in February and March.

It means the school will now be subject to regular inspections and risks being closed down if performances do not improve.

The report criticises teachers for pupils’ poor performance in English, maths, science and other subjects and also for not enforcing rules in the classroom.

It reads: “Teaching is inadequate because it is not demanding enough to ensure that students achieve well.

“Work is not well planned or appropriately matched to students’ level of ability, and is frequently too easy.”

Inspectors also note a large number of pupils remain absent from school and shortcomings have only recently been addressed by leaders and governors.

GCSE results published in January show 37% of pupils achieved five or more grades A* to C. The government’s benchmark for schools is 40%.

"teaching is inadequate because it is not demanding enough to ensure that students achieve well." – ofsted inspector

In the same month, the school was in turmoil following the sudden resignation of head teacher Simon Murphy less than two weeks after a consultation to become an academy ended.

Acting principal Elizabeth King has taken over the reins and assured parents the school is on the road to recovery despite the damning report.

In a letter to parents, she wrote: “As you will see, the report encouragingly notes that the leadership of the school is clear about what needs to be done for the school to improve.

“It also observes that there is sound evidence for an improvement in GCSE results this summer, 2013.

“However, despite these and other positive comments, we are of course very disappointed with the report’s overall findings, in particular the fact that we have been placed into a category of concern.

“The HMI visit took place just four working weeks after I took up the position of acting principal.

“Prior to my appointment, the school leadership and governing body knew that standards needed to be raised and set in motion a plan to improve our performance.

“Therefore, the governing body began exploring the possibility of the school becoming an academy and partnering with others to help bring about the change we knew was needed.

“When I took up post, I undertook the process of preparing the school to become a successful academy.”

The school is hoping to open as an Oasis Academy in December, which staff believe will help make the necessary improvements.

To see the report visit the Ofsted website.

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