The Park High School

Ofsted Letters

School Ref: RR/SG 15th January, 2010

Dear Parents/Carers,

As you know Ofsted visited the school on the 11th and 12th of November 2009. The report from that visit is published soon on the Ofsted website. We will also publish it on the school website and have copies available at the reception in school.

Although the school achieved record GCSE results last summer, the number of students with five or more A*-C grades including English and Maths was below the national standard. Inspectors said students are not making as much progress as they should and decided the school required special measures. The report will not affect the school becoming an academy in its current premises next September. More than £25 million has been allocated by the Government to build a state-of-the-art new building at South Lynn.

We need to improve in two very important areas; accelerate students’ learning and progress and by sharing good practice in teaching more effectively to help increase the proportion of good teaching. They have also asked me to ensure that parents are better informed about how to support their children’s learning. You as parents are a key partner in the success of the school and you can expect even more opportunities to be able to come into school and support your children.

I am confident that this summer our GCSE results will improve. Even before Ofsted’s visit we had introduced new initiatives – including developing a range of teaching styles – to raise attainment, particularly in English and Maths. Be assured I will take all necessary steps to ensure that our school and your children get the success they deserve. Students who do not wish to cooperate in learning and behave well will find that they have no place at The Park High School.

I am attaching to this letter the consultation documents for the Academy and closure of The Park High School. Some of the issues that challenge our school will be overcome by the transformation of the school into an academy. That is why the Governors and staff of the school are all in favour.

I know that I can count on you to support all the work we need to set in place to ensure that our school makes the necessary improvements. I will write to you again before the end of term outlining any changes that we will be making and reminding you of the rules and expectations we have of our students.

Can I thank you once again for all the support you have given to the school and me this year.

Yours sincerely,

Dr. R. Rogers
Executive Headteacher

12 November 2009

Dear Students,

Inspection of The Park High School, King’s Lynn, PE30 4QG

Thank you for making us welcome when we came to inspect your school. We enjoyed talking to you and hearing your views. Most of you told us that you were happy at school and thought that the headteacher and all your staff were doing a good job. Some of your parents also completed a questionnaire to tell us what they felt and we would like you to thank them on our behalf for taking the trouble to
reply.

We have judged that The Park High School requires ‘special measures’. This means that inspectors will visit the school regularly to check that the quality of your education is improving. The main reason for this judgement is because too many of you are not doing as well as you should. We saw some good lessons where you were working very hard and obviously enjoying what you were doing. We also saw lessons
where you were spending too much time listening to the teacher rather than working for yourselves. In these lessons some of you lost interest, became inattentive and did not make as much progress as you should. Some students’ behaviour in lessons is unsatisfactory and disrupts their own learning and that of others. Inappropriate behaviour by some students during breaks can spoil this social time for others.

We have therefore asked the school to make a number of improvements. These include:

 Improving your learning and progress

 Improving the quality of teaching

 Improving the progress made by sixth form students

 Ensuring that governors and leaders analyse and evaluate the work of the school and take prompt and effective action to secure improvement.

You can help by attending regularly, arriving at school on time, arriving punctually at the start of lessons and acting responsibly. We know that all of your teachers have your best interests at heart and we are sure that you will help them to help you.

We wish you well for the future.

Yours sincerely

Lindsay Hebditch
Her Majesty’s Inspector