Angus councillors will be advised that Montrose Academy should be inspected for the second time in two years after a damning education inspector’s report which criticises aspects of teaching and pupil support at the school.
However, some officials have refused to accept the findings with education convener Peter Nield confirming the department took the “exceptionally unusual” step of making a formal complaint to the education inspectorate about feedback from inspector Ken McAra.
Following a visit in June, Mr McAra found that senior students “perform notably less well than those in schools which serve young people with similar needs and backgrounds” in national examinations.
At a meeting in Forfar, the scrutiny and audit sub-committee will also be told that the overall pace of learning at the school is “too slow” and that many students are “unhappy about how staff deal with bullying and poor behaviour.”
On the strength of this Mr McAra, who has helped headteacher Ronald Small identify the key areas for improvement, has arranged for a follow-up inspection in this academic year.
His report reads, “At all stages, young people could attain and achieve more. In a few lessons, staff set tasks at the right level for individuals. However, this practice is not consistent.
“At times, teachers do not take sufficient account of young people’s prior learning and tasks and activities are not demanding enough.
“Young people are capable of making better progress.”
Mr McAra added that another cause of concern was that arrangements for consulting parents on “sensitive aspects of relationships and health education” did not appear to be “consistently effective.”‘Positive changes’ urgedIt is understood the committee will be presented with an action plan devised by the school to combat the problems outlined in the report.
Information released by Angus Council indicates that staff at the school, among other things, will be involved in reviewing the senior school curriculum as well as working with the pupil senate to ensure a consistent approach is taken to behavioural problems.
Progress will be monitored and on that basis it will be decided if a third inspection visit is necessary.
Mr McAra said, “Senior managers need to ensure that planned improvements bring about positive changes to young people’s experiences.
“Young people are not sufficiently involved in evaluating the work of the school.
“The school does not yet have a robust and rigorous system in place to monitor and track young people’s progress across the curriculum.”
Mr Nield refuted the findings of the report, claiming it bore “no resemblance to reality whatsoever” and had angered senior staff in the department.
He said, “I know for a fact that this does not reflect what goes on in the school.
“It is exceptionally unusual for a council to complain about the content of an HMIe report but we felt we had no other option in this instance.”