THE headteacher of a Pershore school, found to require improvement by Ofsted inspectors last year, says she is proud of the progress made.

Abbey Park Middle School had a visit from the body’s inspection team last October and in a published report inspectors say that “this is a school that requires improvement”.

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This angered some parents as the Abbey Road school had in previous inspections, in 2010 and 2014, been rated as good, with some telling us at the time they were demanding answers.

Now Rebecca Scully, executive headteacher of Abbey Park Schools Federation, has written to the Journal and says school staff have been “relentless in their determination for school improvement” in the 10 months since.

“A recent teaching and learning review on behalf of the local authority recognised and celebrated a range of clear improvements,” she said.

“They were that the executive headteacher and head of school have developed a clear vision for improving the quality of provision and pupil outcomes. This is underpinned by a focussed strategy to address the recommendations following the school’s inspection.

“There are clear, positive and tangible impacts of these strategies. They (the teachers) are providing a greater breadth and depth of challenge for all groups of learners. There was a calm, positive and purposeful climate for learning, where children were actively engaged and focussed on their work. Pupils have higher expectations of themselves. There are now clear systems in place around the use of assessment information. A rigorous attendance strategy is in place and this is highly impactful

“And pupil behaviour throughout the day was of a high standard.”

"Over the coming academic year, there is a focus on improving our curriculum offer. As a staff group we have planned topics that build on the learning from previous years and ensures there is a progression from one year to the next.

“Children are thoroughly enjoying these topics and are excited by the ‘wow’ days where children get to learn outside of the classroom environment. Abbey Park staff are committed to school improvement. As well as working with the local authority, we engage in the middle school ‘peer to peer’ reviews where heads work together to focus school leaders in the development of their schools. I am proud of the progress we have made at Abbey Park Middle School and am determined to continue to work with staff in order to make our school a fantastic place for our children."