Expert team parachuted in to rescue Spalding school

The governing body of a struggling secondary school has been replaced after the latest visit by education watchdog Ofsted.

Inspectors visited the Sir John Gleed School in October – just months after it had been removed from special measures – but found that action plans put in place by the school’s managers to overcome serious weaknesses were “not fit for purpose”.
The ruling has prompted the trust that oversees the academy, the CfBT, to remove the board of governors, made up of teachers, parents and community representatives, with a rapid improvement board, or RIB.
The RIB will consist of a small team of mainly education specialists and professionals, who will focus on driving and then maintaining rapid improvements to the quality of teaching and learning at the school.
A spokesman for the CfBT said: “While the removal of ‘special measures’ by Ofsted in May was a tremendous achievement, this new style of governance will provide highly specialist support to the school’s leadership to help propel Sir John Gleed quickly out of an Ofsted category of concern altogether.
“Parents will also play an important role on the RIB, and we are inviting parents and carers of current pupils at the school with relevant skills to put themselves forward for the two posts available.
“We are extremely grateful for the hard work and commitment of the former governing body, and will continue to welcome their input into ensuring this school delivers an excellent education for all its students.”
The school was first placed in special measures in 2013 amid concerns about quality of teaching, achievement of pupils, beahviour and safety of pupils and quality of management and leadership.
Special measures were removed in May, when the key areas were still found to “require improvement” and the school was graded “Inadequate” overall by Ofsted.