May 7th 2019
OFSTED Monitoring Visit Update
Dear Parent/Carer,
I am delighted to write to you to share details of our OFSTED monitoring visit in April. The full report is now published on our website and will also be published over the course of the coming days on the OFSTED website.
The key headline from the report is the judgement that “leaders and managers are taking effective action towards the removal of special measures”. The report states that “the determination of the senior leadership team to make The Edge a place where pupils develop positive attitudes to education is unwavering” and that “the skills of individual leaders…have been harnessed to create a cohesive leadership team that share the same aspirational vision for improvement”. As you are no doubt aware, I have now been in role as Principal for a year and we have a completely new leadership team in place since the turn of the year- it is therefore particularly pleasing that the report goes on to state that “each leader is playing an instrumental part in starting to turn the vision into reality…..showing a steely resolve to get the job done”.
Indeed, I feel very proud to lead our whole team of staff, who have all worked tirelessly to achieve improvement in all areas of school life in recent months. The range of improvement is fully recognised in the inspection report, which notes that “arrangements for safeguarding have been strengthened”, “the relentless focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning…is bringing about positive change” and that “provision for meeting the needs of pupils with SEND has been strengthened”. In addition, the report emphasises the “significant improvement in pupils’ punctuality”, points out that “attendance is tracked with great precision….with appropriate action taken when issues are identified” and highlights the fact that “pupils’ books indicate that some pupils are achieving particularly well”.
Equally, I am extremely grateful to have the privilege to work with such a committed set of parents and carers- we cannot thank you enough for your constant support over recent months which was noted in the inspection report with the observation that “parental feedback at the most recent Parents’ Evening indicates that parents and carers are pleased with the improvements at the school”.
I must also acknowledge the work of the wider community and all stakeholders in helping us arrive at this point in our improvement journey- the report underlines the fact that “the support of governors and the Post-Ofsted Improvement Board….is continuing to help the school move in the right direction” and also underlines the “enormous benefit” of the support we receive through our partnership with REACH Alternative Provision School in Kings Heath. As a team of staff, we remain humble, and we will continue to access all of the support networks on offer to us as we continue to learn, develop, and work towards our ambition of becoming the best alternative provision school in Birmingham.
As you would expect, we fully accept all findings of the report and are moving quickly on addressing all areas for development raised. You will be aware that I have already written to you prior to this letter detailing the tough measures we are taking to eradicate smoking from the school site, students have responded well to these at the beginning of term.
We will be continuing to work relentlessly on our journey towards becoming a “good” school that “shapes the futures” of our fantastic students effectively. Once more, I would like to thank you all for your continued support. Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions regarding this letter, my direct e-mail is [email protected].
Yours faithfully,
Andrew Wakefield
Principal