INSPECTORS who put Hemel Hempstead’s Astley Cooper School under the spotlight earlier this month reckon there is room for improvement – and the head couldn’t agree more.
The inspection team who visited the Grovehill secondary school concluded that it should still get the Grade 3 rating it received the last time it was examined – but under tougher Ofsted classifications now in force, that means a change in status from ‘satisfactory’ to ‘requires improvement.’
Head Eddie Gaynor said this week: “It’s the right judgement for where we are now. The bar has been raised.”
He wants the school to move up to a ‘good’ rating over the next 18 months and says positive comments from the inspectors on improved attendance, the quality of teaching, relationships between staff and students and the school’s reputation show it is on the right track. The inspectors noted that in his first year in charge Mr Gaynor has provided a clear direction. The report will be published in full on the Ofsted website at www.ofsted.gov.uk tomorrow, Thursday.