Saddleworth School told it 'requires improvement' by Ofsted

Saddleworth School on Huddersfield Road teaches young people aged between 11 and 16 and has historically been a 'good' school since it opened.

However, a fresh inspection by the education watchdog earlier this year suggested the school standards had slipped as it now 'requires improvement' in all key areas.

These are the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.

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The inspection team, consisting of Eleanor Overland, Chris Glennon, Joe Barker, David Roberts and Andy Burton, visited the school in January this year and flagged several issues.

When it came to the curriculum, Ofsted found that while the school is "ambitious" and "aspirational" for all its pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), some renewed subject curriculums are in the "early stages".

Inspectors said the school had ensured teachers had been well-trained to deliver the curriculum which was particularly helpful for students in key stage 3.

Among the positives, inspectors found pupils feel 'happy' and 'safe' (Image: Saddleworth School)

However,  the report stated: "The school has not fully addressed the knowledge gaps that pupils have because of weaknesses in the previous curriculums.

"Therefore, some pupils do not achieve as well as they should."

This includes pupils with SEND as while Saddleworth School secures appropriate support for students with complex needs, teachers' adaptations to the delivery of the curriculum were "less secure".

Since 2020, Saddleworth School said it has rewritten every curriculum for pupils in Years 7 to 9 to become "broader" and "more ambitious", prioritising English literature, English language, maths, the sciences, history, geography and modern foreign languages.

In 2020, it said just 12 per cent of Year 11 pupils took all of these subjects at GCSE whereas now, almost 40 per cent do.

Despite the school's focus on reading, inspectors also pointed out a disparity as pupils in key stage 3 enjoy the activity while "the same is not true of pupils in key stage 4".

This has led to students not being able to read as fluently as they should, hindering their ability to access the wider curriculum. 

Bosses at the school said it is now working hard to improve reading (Image: Saddleworth School)

Mike Anderson, headteacher of Saddleworth School, said the school is now "working hard" in this area with an established team of staff on hand to deliver reading intervention programmes.

As for the pupils' behaviour, inspectors found students generally "meet the high standards of behaviour" expected of them and that staff apply its behaviour policy "fairly".

However, some students are late to lessons or miss lessons completely, despite being in school.

For some students, suspensions have become "repetitive" and gaps in their learning are "often compounded".

Mr Anderson said the school is now "doubling efforts" to give pupils "extensive support" and is setting expectations to improve their attendance.

On bullying, inspectors wrote: "In the main, the school is quick to deal with incidents of bullying when they are reported.

"However, some pupils told inspectors that instances of derogatory language and homophobic comments are not identified by the school consistently well."

Ofsted also said: "The school provides a range of opportunities for pupils’ wider development.

"For example, the school’s bespoke ‘SPACE’ curriculum enables pupils to build an understanding of how to stay safe online and how to develop healthy relationships.

"However, the school’s work in promoting diversity is less well established. As a result, some pupils do not fully grasp the negative impact that the use of derogatory language can have on others."

The report comes after a former student told The Oldham Times she was bullied and experienced racism "daily" during her years at the school.

Saddleworth School also hit headlines following reports pupils were making monkey chants and Nazi salutes towards black and Asian children at the school.

Mr Anderson said that such language and intolerance towards others is "never acceptable".

He added: "We take this extremely seriously.

"We have put in place a new personal development programme for pupils, which promotes tolerance, celebrates diversity and explains modern British values."

The head, who took on the role in 2020, said the school has since set up a new reporting system for pupils to anonymously report bullying and is training staff on how to deal with incidents.

New anti-bullying ambassadors have been appointed and the school said it is also working towards the White Ribbon Award, which educates boys about the harmful effects of sexism and violence towards girls and women, as well as the Leeds Beckett Anti-Racist Award.

Pupils enjoy sports and other extra-curricular activities at the school (Image: Saddleworth School)

Among the positives, the inspectors did find pupils felt "happy and safe", "enjoy" attending Saddleworth School and "appreciate" its upgraded facilities. 

They benefited from a wide range of extra-curricular activities, such as sports, drama, gardening and chess clubs, as well as "high-quality" opportunities to encounter the world of work as well as careers and further education advice.

Older pupils also "relish" taking on positions with responsibilities.

In addition, leaders were praised for having "high aspirations" for the continued improvement of the school and that parents and carers appreciate regular updates about their children.

To get back its 'good' Ofsted grade, the team of inspectors instructed the school to improve on four key points, which are identifying gaps in the curriculum, supporting pupils to become competent readers and cracking down on pupils who miss lessons.

The final point advised Saddleworth School to promote diversity to develop pupils' "understanding and respect of others so that they are better prepared for life in modern Britain".

In response to the Ofsted report, Mr Anderson said while the new 'requires improvement' rating was "disappointing for everyone", he has "absolute confidence" that the school is on track.

He continued: "We have been urgently working to significantly improve our school since 2020.

“Despite the school maintaining its 'good' rating during its monitoring visit in 2018, we were concerned about the decline in standards and student outcomes.

"We have absolute confidence that we are now headed in the right direction to give all our students the excellent education they deserve.

"As a school, while we have a considerable amount of work to do, we are on the right path.

"The senior leadership team and all our staff are committed to providing the very best education for our pupils and I am grateful to them for the huge improvements we have already made - and will continue to make - to ensure our school becomes the excellent environment for learning that our children deserve.”

Got a story? Email me Olivia.bridge@newsquest.co.uk