Houghton Regis school that was put in special measures is showing signs of improvement says Ofsted - but more needs to be done

A Houghton Regis school still has some way to go to get back on the right track, its latest Ofsted inspection has found.

Lead Ofsted inspector Kristian Hewitt reported many of the changes now put in place were starting to have an impact after Thomas Whitehead C of E Academy had been put in special measures in 2021.

Although the latest report says the school on Angels Lane still requires improvement, it found behaviour and attitudes, personal development and early years provision to be good.

He said: “Pupils benefit from the new, ambitious curriculum. This is helping them to build an increasingly secure body of knowledge so they learn well over time. The changes made are also improving aspects of learning for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, because many pupils in the school had a weak curriculum experience before the improvements were made, they still have some gaps in what they know in some areas of the curriculum.

“Pupils enjoy coming to school and they care for each other. They value the wide range of opportunities that contribute to their time in school. Shared time together in assemblies helps pupils to reflect on key values. It also provides pupil prefects with an opportunity to show leadership skills through taking on a responsible role.

“Pupils appreciate the improvements made to their lessons, and feel more confident as a result.”

He said leaders and staff are working to improve the quality of education. “A key feature of the improvement is the revised curriculum now in place. This has raised expectations of what pupils will learn during their time in school. The new curriculum has not been established for enough time to show the difference in pupils’ achievement in the longer term.

"Leaders have not fully checked how effective the curriculum delivery is across all areas of the curriculum. However, there is clear evidence that pupils are knowing and remembering more of what they are learning. This includes pupils with SEND.”

The report also found the teaching of reading had improved. Mr Hewitt added: “The ambitious curriculum in the early years is well established. There are clear routines in place to check how children are progressing in all areas of learning.”

To improve, the report said there needed to be more effective use of assessment to check on children’s knowledge.

Mr Hewitt said: “Leaders need to establish effective routines to monitor the impact of the full curriculum, checking that the intended high expectations for learning are implemented as planned.”

Headteacher Natasha Chiswell, who joined the school last year, said: “Everyone at the school has been working hard to improve the outcomes for our children at Thomas Whitehead. We welcome the positive feedback from OFSTED, and were really pleased that the inspection team recognised that the Early Years provision, Personal Development and Behaviour and Attitudes were already of a Good standard, We are now building upon the positive comments in the report, and expect all areas of the school will be Good or better at the next inspection.”

Read the report in full at Ofsted's website.