Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Overview and Scrutiny Ofsted Subgroup - Wednesday, 27th July, 2022 10.00 am

Venue: Council Antechamber, Level 2, Town Hall Extension. View directions

Contact: Rachel McKeon 

Items
No. Item

8.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 76 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 2 March 2022.

Minutes:

Decision

 

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 2 March 2022.

9.

Ofsted Inspections of Manchester Schools pdf icon PDF 452 KB

To receive a list of all Manchester schools which have been inspected since the last meeting and the judgements awarded. 

 

To consider inspection reports for a selection of the schools.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Subgroup received a list of all Manchester schools which had been inspected since the last meeting and the judgements awarded.  The Director of Education provided an overview of this information, stating that overall the position in Manchester was positive, with 91% of primary schools and 75% of secondary schools being judged as “good” or “outstanding”.  She outlined the context of the recent inspections, highlighting the impact of the pandemic on Manchester schools. 

 

The Subgroup considered the recent Ofsted report for Broad Oak Primary School, which had been judged as “requires improvement”.  The Director of Education reported that the school had previously been judged as “good” and highlighted some of the challenges facing the school including falling pupil numbers and financial problems.  She informed Members that the school was engaging with the Council and with the Aspire multi-academy trust to secure improvements.  She highlighted that Ofsted had identified some strengths in the report but that curriculum development had been identified as an area which needed to improve.

 

The Subgroup considered the recent Ofsted report for Rushbrook Primary Academy which had been judged as “requires improvement” at its most recent inspection.  The Director of Education reported that the school had also been judged as “requires improvement” at its previous inspection but that there had been improvements in the more recent report, with some areas now judged as “good”.  She highlighted that curriculum development had been identified as an area for improvement in this report, in common with a number of the reports that the Subgroup was considering.  She informed the Subgroup that the school engaged with the Council and was part of a multi-academy trust.  A Member expressed concern that the current Ofsted report format was not detailed enough.  She also expressed concern about the focus that Ofsted were taking and advised that there was insufficient consideration of what schools had been dealing with during the pandemic.  In response to a question from the Chair about support being provided to the school, the Director of Education reported that the Head engaged well with Council’s Education Service, which had invited them in for support and challenge meetings.  She also commented positively about the Chair of Governors and highlighted that Ofsted had judged the leadership and management of the school to be “good”; however, she expressed concern that leadership of the curriculum was not stronger, considering that the school was part of a multi-academy trust, which should be supporting this.  The Subgroup discussed the forthcoming regulations in relation to schools which had twice been judged as below “good” and whether there would be a re-brokering process for the school to become part of a different multi-academy trust.  The Chair asked that the Subgroup be kept informed on this.

 

The Subgroup considered the recent Ofsted report for St John Bosco RC Primary School which had been judged as “requires improvement”.  The Director of Education reported that it was a very small, one-form-entry school.  She reported that the school had previously been judged as “good”  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Terms of Reference and Work Programme pdf icon PDF 51 KB

Report of the Governance and Scrutiny Support Unit

 

To review the Terms of Reference and Work Programme of the Subgroup.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Decision

 

To note the Terms of Reference and Work Programme.