THE governors of Walton Hall Community Special School in Eccleshall have been slapped with a warning notice to improve amid major concerns they are failing to drive up standards.
The governors have 15 days to prepare an action plan or Staffordshire County Council will use powers to appoint an interim exective board in its place.
The authority issued the notice following fears the school has failed to adequately address standards in both care and education.
Major worries include the safeguarding of children at the residential centre at the school, as well as standards of pupil achievement, leadership and management and governance.
Councillor Ian Parry, cabinet member for education, finance and transformation, said: “Concerns regarding inadequate levels of supervision at the residential centre were first raised in 2011 and, following an extensive investigation, an action plan was drawn up.
While there have been improvements, they have not been quick or far reaching enough.
Ongoing concerns remain and it has become clear that the school needs a strong governing body to support the head teacher and staff to swiftly and successfully address the issues.
“We hope that the warning notice will bring a greater focus and urgency in securing these improvements, ensuring that pupils continue to receive a good standard of education in a safe, secure and stable environment.
“We will work closely with the governors, head teacher and its staff to provide whatever support they need to quickly and effectively put the appropriate changes in place.”
The Department for Education requires local authorities to take action and to consider using statutory powers of intervention where the management or governance of the school does not meet the required standards. It is likely that the warning notice will trigger an Ofsted inspection.
