'One hell of a journey to turn school around'

When head teacher Michelle King was told her school was inadequate she said she was not ashamed to say it left her "shocked, surprised and seriously concerned".

Used to Ofsted inspectors delivering a verdict of "good" before her arrival in 2019, she knew she was at the start of "one hell of a journey" to change the fortunes of Idsall School in Shifnal, Shropshire.

Back in 2022, the school was told it was struggling to deal with bad behaviour and was not giving enough support to students with special educational needs and for those who struggled with reading.

The school had hit the headlines previously, having been used by the Football Association to educate young stars like Michael Owen and Sol Campbell, when it was based at nearby Lilleshall.

Following Ofsted's verdict, Ms King says changes have been made, ahead of the verdict on the school's latest inspection in the coming days.

Things had been a challenge soon after she joined the school, with the global pandemic lockdown coming just months after her appointment.

However, when the critical Ofsted report was published, on 28 September 2022, Ms King knew she would be in the firing line, especially from parents.

"That trust isn't there is it, when you're new," she remembers.

"They don't know you well enough and the previous head had been here a long time."

Ms King said staff felt "very bruised and battered" by some of the findings and the first reaction of some teachers had been to question Ofsted.

She said it was her role as head teacher to "pick them up and move on and that's also very difficult when you're new".

"[But] I was under no illusions that the school did need to improve in significant areas," she added.

Pupils' behaviour was one of the biggest concerns raised by Ofsted.

It found "too many pupils do not feel safe" and some reported "frequent sexual harassment or discriminatory behaviour from their peers".

The watchdog's report also said pupils "are not confident that teachers will deal with their concerns, so they do not report the incidents that occur".

Ms King said she believed there had been a "lack of consistency" in the way it had dealt with challenging behaviour.

Assistant Head Casey Bailey, who is responsible for "behaviour and attitudes", said: "Where there isn't clarity, it means students don't know exactly where they stand, staff don't know exactly where they stand and it creates gaps, loopholes and issues."

To address this, Ms King said the school "sat down with a large group of students," to draw up a clear set of rules for pupils to follow.

Mr Bailey, a former Birmingham Poet Laureate, said the school was also working harder to reward good behaviour and to understand and support those students who did not meet the school's rules.

Sixth-form student Ashwin, 17, said behaviour had improved and "teachers are more confrontational to bad students".

She also said the management of behaviour was "more organised".

Pupil Zak, 16, said previously that "behaviour could have been improved in some areas".

However, overall he believed it was a "good school" and not as bad as the Ofsted report had suggested.

The school has made changes in a number of other areas too.

For instance, the 2022 report highlighted concerns with the provision for children with special educational needs or disabilities.

It said they did not receive the help they needed in lessons, received a high number of suspensions and "do not experience a good enough education".

Ms King said the school was trying harder to understand those children and was working with parents to draw up plans to help them, with external providers coming in to provide support.

Ofsted had also asked the school to do more to support pupils who struggled with reading and to recruit more experienced teachers.

There were other recommendations too, and Ms King said: "It can be a lonely job and you do have to rely on a great team behind you."

In September 2023, the school joined the Marches Academy Trust, which manages 10 other schools in Shropshire.

Ms King said she did not feel her role was threatened and welcomed the support and advice it had given her.

She said the trust also challenged her and made it easier to collaborate with other schools.

Idsall is hoping the findings of the most recent Ofsted inspection, which are due to be published before Christmas, will paint it in a better light.

Ms King said that although the school was full to its 1,200 capacity, she was aware some parents of Year 6 children had been looking at sending them elsewhere.

The most recent Ofsted monitoring report, in July, noted that while the work to change the culture was making progress, it appeared to have "had little impact on some parents' perceptions".

Ms King said changing minds was "really hard" and she had invited parents in to see the changes being made.

But ultimately, she said she accepted "it's not really about what we say, it's about what we do".

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