Page 98 - She's One Crazy Lady!

the unknown! Later, this came as a complete shock to the staff who had been kept in the dark as to what was happening. Both ‘Mr T’, as I will call him, and I had come from quite forward-thinking, progressive schools and were surprised to see that our newly-acquired school was somewhat dated– wrapped in a time warp. Through no fault of their own the staff had been left for quite some time, without support, guidance or leadership, and the school had rapidly declined. What were we taking on? Having gone through Inspections ourselves, and both aware of the requirements and expectations of the National Curriculum, Mr T. and I both agreed that if this school was to be inspected at this time it would, undoubtedly, fall into Special Measures. We were not experts, but quickly realised there was so much work to be done in all areas. Were we up to the challenge? Yes. We had to be. There were children and a community to be supported!
Within a few weeks the dreaded brown envelope from Ofsted dropped through the letterbox – the Inspectors were calling – with not much time to prepare which I have always felt, is the best way and perhaps the right way, for any inspection to take place. We tidied up, of course, and all staff made a huge effort to show themselves in the best light. But the Inspectors had their tick lists and a rigorous inspection was carried out, with no stones left unturned. Nine serious key issues were identified and a time limit of approximately one year was given to resolve them. They didn’t actually say the school would close if the right progress hadn’t been made but we could read between the lines. The Authority stepped in to help us set up an Action Plan and gave us a budget to work with. Some staff chose to leave, others were advised to leave and some resigned. We were taking it a day at a time, each day throwing new challenges our way. New, experienced, staff were quickly taken on and existing Governors quickly had to ‘up their game’. In addition, as we were trying to put together our detailed Action Plans, with endless Governors and staff meetings, Mr T. was faced with a personal and a very upsetting crisis and sadly went off on compassionate leave.
I was left to take over as Acting Head in a School in Special Measures, with huge key issues to resolve, staff leaving, new staff and Governors coming on board, parents wondering what on earth was happening, some ‘challenging’ children and the set budget from the LEA to get the school sorted in the next few months. Some challenge!!! At this point I had to take my hat off to Peter, the school’s Site Supervisor, his daughter- in-law, Sue, the school’s secretary, all teachers, the loyal support staff and even the cleaners who were truly amazing and so supportive of me, as was everyone in the family of the school. Their love and commitment to the school was apparent and the hard work put in by all of them was admirable and comforting. Despite all the difficulties, it was great to be in such a good team. We kept things going and the meticulous spread sheets produced by Peter, in his efforts to drastically improve the actual aesthetics of the school, were a talking point and recognised by the Inspectors and the LEA; so much so that at a follow-up meeting with the
“They didn’t actually say the school would close if the right progress hadn’t been made but we could read between the lines.
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