LEADERS at Bellingham Middle School have entered into the new term with a hope to drive forward standards, following a challenging Ofsted report at the end of last term.

The school was visited by Ofsted inspectors on May 11 and 12, before the report was published in June detailing that the school required improvement.

It was told it required improvement in effectiveness of leadership and management; quality of teaching, learning and assessment; personal development, behaviour and welfare and outcomes for pupils.

The report outlined that pupils did not make good rates of progress and did not have sufficient opportunities to work at greater depth.

It said variance in the quality of teaching was evident between subjects. In mathematics, it was noted that although improving, progress was weak as pupils did not have regular opportunities to apply their reasoning and problem-solving skills.

However, the report detailed that headteacher Rebecca Simpson, who was appointed to the role at the end of last year, had brought in more rigorous systems to check and improve the quality of teaching, which were contributing to improving rates of pupils’ progress.

Inspectors also noted that, as a result of stronger teaching and higher expectations, pupils were making much better progress in English.

Pupils’ welfare was looked after, and while in discussion with inspectors, children described the school as “friendly” and “one big family”.

Mrs Simpson said a new action plan was created swiftly following the inspection which was now being worked through, and that a new mathematics specialist, Lois Clay, had been brought in to put a focus on problem solving, reasoning and greater depth within the subject.

“Ofsted seemed to recognise that we had put new systems in place but we are not yet getting the impact through from them. It does take a bit of time, so it’s about accelerating that process,” she said.

“We came out well in the English department, so we are improving things we didn’t do so well in while not allowing those areas to fall.

“The staff have been absolutely brilliant and are so keen to improve the school. They are a fantastic team and I am really proud of them for the way they are committed to moving us forward.”