New leadership for Alderman Smith School
Warwickshire County Council has replaced the board of governors at Nuneaton’s Alderman Smith School with a new governing body.
It follows the decision by Ofsted to place the school in a special measures category following a recent inspection, noting that the school needs to improve learning outcomes for students.
Warwickshire has been given approval by the Secretary of State to appoint a team of education specialists as an Interim Executive Board to run the Radnor Drive school. Margaret Ryan was recently appointed as headteacher after Trevor Nunn stepped down.
An Interim Executive Board (IEB) is a short term measure taken to by a local authority to secure a sound basis for future improvement and promote high levels of educational attainment.
Ofsted inspectors said they wanted to see significant developments made to raise pupils’ attainment through more structured teaching and ‘stronger, more ambitious leadership’.
The IEB has recently been established by the authority and its membership contains experienced governors and specialists in the field of improving school performance.
Bob Hooper, Head of Education, said: “Obviously the recent Ofsted report highlighted the need to strengthen the leadership and governance of this school. The establishment of the IEB is just one part of the action plan the LA has drawn up to help the school make the necessary improvements as swiftly as possible.
“The IEB is a temporary arrangement and will remain in place only until the school is no longer judged by Ofsted to require special measures. Parents can be assured that these urgent changes are necessary to improve the performance of the school and provide a better education for their children.”
Diana Turner, Chair of the Interim Executive Board added: “This is a crucial time in the school’s history and it is important that we all work together to bring the school out of special measures and improve opportunities for students at the school. The board, working with staff and the local authority is fully committed to achieving these outcomes as soon as possible.”