School denies crisis fears

LEADERS have dismissed fears that a Royton school is descending into chaos after a number of staff suspensions and redundancies.

Five staff members at Our Lady’s High School have been suspended and six made redundant but leaders say there are no major problems — and they have been backed by Government inspectors.

An Ofsted report released yesterday said the school provides a satisfactory standard of education and has made good progress under the strong leadership of the acting head teacher and supportive senior leadership team.

The Chronicle revealed in January how head teacher Roger Whitaker had been sent home from the 1,200 pupil Catholic secondary.

His suspension has lasted for nearly six months but the school says the situation will be resolved this week.

Mr Whitaker, appointed head in 2003, was praised for his outstanding leadership by Ofsted in 2007 after GCSE results were among the most improved in the country. In April, the Chronicle reported that the business manager and a secretary had also been suspended. Their situation will also be resolved this week.

But two more members of staff have since been suspended and six people made redundant.

Acting head teacher Carol Spillane is now leaving at the end of the school year after being appointed head of Calder High School, West Yorkshire.

The current acting head teacher of Kaskenmoor School, Bob Thornton, has been appointed to take her place until the Vaughan Street school merges with St Augustine’s, Werneth, to create a new Catholic school.

A new head will then take over to run the £30 million school, to be built in Chadderton for 2012.

Our Lady’s is said to have budgeting problems and residents with connections to the school claim the suspensions are heavy handed.

They have raised concerns that the staff changes have affected morale and could endanger the school’s hard-earned reputation for providing a good education.

One said: “Mr Whitaker’s record for turning the school around is very good and I’m not sure this has been handled very sensitively. The suspensions seem quite rash.”

Another added: “I fear for the children, especially those taking their exams, but also for the future of Catholic education in Oldham.”

John Ling, Oldham branch secretary of the NASUWT, confirmed the union is involved with two teachers who have been suspended but said details are confidential as negotiations are ongoing.

He added: “There’s no more problems going on than most big secondary schools. It might have been exacerbated by the merger.”

Chairman of Governors Mike Aston said: “I can’t speak about the suspensions as there’s a hearing coming up and I don’t want to prejudice it.

“There were some redundancies due to cost savings and overstaffing as we don’t have the same number of pupils coming in.

“Most of the redundancies are people that have either got other jobs or have been reinstated as others have since left making their position available again.”

He dismissed the fears of major problems, referring people to the Ofsted report.

He added: “It’s the best we could have expected. There are no problems at the school. We are making good progress and Ofsted have acknowledged we are moving strongly in the right direction. The evidence is we are an improving school.”

Father Peter McKie, a governor, said: “I’m concerned about anyone losing their job, it’s an awful thing, but sometimes it has to be done. The school is fine. Two schools coming together to make one school is always going to have problems.”

The Ofsted report found standards of attainment have risen in some key areas, particularly mathematics, the quality of teaching and students’ attitude to learning have improved and students are making satisfactory progress.

Inspectors noted that the quality of care, guidance and support to students is good and the senior leadership team is united in its vision and aspirations for the school and relentless in its drive for improvement. Attendance is good, behaviour has improved and exclusions reduced dramatically.

They added: “The acting head teacher has overseen the implementation of some significant improvements across the school. She and the senior leadership team are working effectively to raise standards.”