Wolverhampton pupils fenced in after bad school report
A fence will be built around a troubled Wolverhampton school which was recently placed into special measures to keep its pupils from playing truant, it emerged today.
Wolverhampton City Council, which runs New Park School in Whitmore Reans, says it needs to 'secure the site boundary'. It follows a damning Ofsted report.
The report found that pupils leave the school site 'when they want to'.
The report also said students smoked on site and vandalised teachers' cars, while staff manhandled youngsters.
The school caters for 107 pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.
In the wake of the education watchdog's findings, which followed a two-day inspection in February, the school's headteacher, Sharon Humphreyson, stepped down from her role. Nicola Davis and Martin Farmer, both from nearby Aldersley High School, have been drafted in to act as interim executive headteacher and interim headteacher respectively to improve standards with the help of the council.
The fence is one of the measures being implemented by the local authority, which is currently seeking a contractor.
Bosses say the fence will also improve student safety.
James McElligott, the council's assistant director for education and enterprise, said: "Assessments have been carried out to ascertain the required fencing and we will now progress to the tendering process."
He added: "The authority has put a plan in place to bring about necessary improvements to ensure young people currently attending New Park, and pupils who attend in future, get the best possible education that they deserve."
New Park School was given the worst possible rating of 'inadequate' in all four key inspection areas by Ofsted; achievement of pupils, quality of teaching, behaviour and safety of pupils and leadership and management. It noted 'very low' attendance, with some pupils who do attend walking out of lessons and leaving the school. On the first day of the inspection, a third of the pupils were absent. "Some pupils spend more time out of lessons than in them," the report added.
Some residents living near to the school say they often see students truanting and smoking off-site. Mother-of-three Ruth South, of Cromer Gardens, said: "They are always running off and the teachers are coming to fetch them back."
However, the report did say some teaching was 'at least good', with many committed staff fostering positive relationships with pupils and working hard to help them to improve their learning and behaviour.
