Two schools told to urgently improve by inspectors

Two schools in Greater Manchester have been told they need urgent improvement following Ofsted inspections.

St Thomas' Church of England Primary in Stockport has been placed in special measures with inspectors raising concerns about teaching, attendance and leadership.

Ravensfield Primary in Dukinfield, already in special measures after staff reported violence towards teachers had reached "untenable levels", had only made minor improvements, inspectors said.

The CLIC Trust, which runs Ravensfield, said management "recognised the seriousness of Ofsted's findings" and were committed to "delivering rapid improvements". St Thomas' Primary School has been contacted for comment.

The government watchdog found the Stockport school was "failing to provide an acceptable standard of education".

It was criticised for leaving pupils "ill-equipped" for the next stage of their education, with a "patchy" knowledge of most subjects.

According to the report, too many children were also persistently absent, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Lead inspector David Spruce found pupils had been "hindered by a range of factors that ultimately stem from ineffective leadership and governance".

Weaknesses in curriculum design and teaching practices had not been sufficiently addressed and leaders had not tackled "deep-rooted attendance issues", he said.

Although these had been highlighted previously "they largely persist", he said.

However, the watchdog praised the school's early years provision, saying youngsters "get off to a good start" and "enjoy warm, positive relationships with their teachers".

Ravensfield Primary School saw staff strikes earlier this year after pupil-on-teacher and pupil-on-pupil violence reached what the teacher's union NASUWT called "untenable levels".

A recent monitoring report by Ofsted found school leaders had "started to put actions in place to improve the many significant areas of concern in the school".

Relationships with many staff were "fractured" but leaders were attempting to address this, it said.

The report found behaviour had improved slightly but many pupils were still being distracted by those who did not enjoy learning.

"There is still a way to go," it said.

The report found previously low expectations were starting to rise but were inconsistent which made it "difficult for pupils to succeed".

The CLIC Trust said it was "confident" plans already in place would lead to improvements.

A spokesperson said the Department for Education recognised the trust had the capacity to "deliver rapid and sustainable improvement" and there was already a "positive impact on staff morale and engagement, attendance, behaviour and culture".

Ofsted has changed its rating system, moving away from one-word summaries like "good", "outstanding", or "requires improvement".

Inspectors now give a descriptive assessment that "gives a clearer picture of what's working well and where the next steps for improvement are", it said.

This includes colour-coded grades for areas such as attendance and behaviour, achievement, and well-being, with each evaluated using a five-point scale ranging from "exceptional" to "urgent improvement".

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