Our plans in response to Ofsted findings

Ipswich Academy has launched a programme of weekly meetings with parents and students as part of its drive to address the results of its recent Ofsted inspection.

School co-principals Abbie Thorrington and Samuel Fox have also announced an action plan to ensure that the quality of teaching provided by supply staff is of high standard and to place a stronger focus on the quality of teaching and consistency of approach across all areas. 

The move comes after the school’s May inspection, published 5 July, which concludes that despite careful planning and some high-quality teaching, the school requires improvement.

Abbie Thorrington said: “We’ve been through the Ofsted report carefully with the inspectors and are now engaging with the whole school community to address issues raised. Yes, that means staff, but parents and pupils also have an important role to play. By working together, we can make changes quickly and effectively.

“While we know we have issues that need to be addressed, we were pleased that inspectors highlighted the high degree of trust between staff and pupils and the rich range of personal development activities we provide.”

Inspectors noted that early reading is a strong point for the school with effective support for pupils.

Samuel Fox added: “We’ll use these meetings to keep our parents and carers informed about progress and to tap into our students’ experiences and views in order to find what will work best.

“The inspectors have pointed to the areas in which we need to improve. As well as our local school community, we’ll be drawing on the expertise within Paradigm Trust, which runs schools in both Ipswich and London. Our Trust’s director of school improvement, Ben Carter – a senior leader and an ex-headteacher himself – will also be actively involved.”

The school has convened weekly meetings of its parent director and academy council members as well as a weekly staff meetings and a weekly meeting of students. Support in classroom management and teaching have been in place for supply staff since April and this will continue throughout the the summer term and the autumn. The school has also targeted three main areas to drive school improvement and address issues highlighted by the inspection; there are culture and ethos, stabilisation of staffing and providing a high quality of teaching for all students.