The head of the trust responsible for one of the schools in the “Trojan Horse” inspections in Birmingham says it has been “close to impossible” to attract new staff as the school again comes under fire from Ofsted.
In the fourth monitoring visit since Park View Academy was rated inadequate, inspectors say it is not making enough progress to be taken out of special measures.
Published on Tuesday, their report said pupils’ progress was declining and the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers was widening.
The report said expected attainment in maths of the current year 11 group was likely to “fall sharply” and no pupils were expected to achieve an A or A* in English literature this year.
Ofsted highlighted concerns that the decline was the result of weaknesses in teaching.
“While there are now fewer teachers working at the academy who are not permanent members of staff, students and parents still raise concerns that staffing instability is impeding the progress that students make.”
From September the school will have a new name, Rockwood, and a new principal, Fuzel Choudhury.
CORE Education Trust was appointed as the school’s sponsor in March. Adrian Packer, its chief executive and Park View’s former executive principal, told Schools Week: “It was inevitable that we’d find it hard to recruit staff in the context we found ourselves in this year. That wasn’t down to one single factor. The Ofsted monitoring inspections have been helpful in focusing our energies on immediate school improvement priorities.
“However, against the backdrop of a school being so woefully caricatured in the media, it has been close to impossible to attract new staff. But we knew if we found the right principal, it would be easier thereafter.”
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