THE headteacher of a Havant secondary school is confident she can turn things around following a ruling by Ofsted inspectors that the school ‘requires improvement’.
Warblington School has been rated grade 3 of 4, with inspectors stating that the teaching needs improving and that students’ literacy skills are not up to scratch.
But Julia Vincent, who was appointed headteacher earlier this year, says she thinks the school will in the future be rated ‘good’.
Now inspectors have set the school the task of ensuring that at least 90 per cent of teaching is good or better and 20 per cent is outstanding by April.
Mrs Vincent, said: ‘This is exactly what we were expecting.
‘It’s given a clear direction for improvement which I recognise needs to happen.
‘The school is moving forward and we will make the required improvements.
‘The school will be ensuring that all teaching in the school is good or better by April.
‘We do a lot of coaching and mentoring.’
Mrs Vincent also added that a literacy programme will be rolled out across the school and work will be carried out with local primary and junior schools to provide a smooth transition for pupils moving from Year 6 – the top year of primary school – up to Year 7, the first year of secondary school.
Inspectors said that the progress students make is not enough to enable them to consistently gain GCSE results which are in line with those nationally.
But the report did also say that the headteacher has set a clear direction for the school’s improvement and that the curriculum matches the needs of the students well, especially those in Key Stage 4.
It also added that most students have positive attitudes towards learning and have the capability to become more involved in the school’s improvement.
Mrs Vincent added: ‘The staff here are working incredibly hard to move forward in a time of immense change.
‘They are really up for the challenge of this and they are actually enjoying a lot of the work that we are doing to improve practice.
‘The inspectors said that the senior team and I understand the issues in the school and we have got a strong agenda that is already working very well.
‘I feel very positive. This will be a good school – there is no doubt in my mind.
‘There is an awful lot that is right about Warblington School and it just needs a greater sense of direction to reach its destiny.’
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