A HIGH SCHOOL has become the first in the district to fall foul of a controversial new grading system set by education watchdog Ofsted.

King Harold Academy in Waltham Abbey received an overall grading of three in its latest inspection, meaning it ‘requires improvement’.

The new classification came into force last month to replace the previous grading of satisfactory, which the school received after its last inspection in 2009.

Ofsted hopes the tougher system will push all schools to reach the higher rating of good.

Headteacher Denice Halpin, who took up her post in January 2010, said: “I’m disappointed at the language of the new framework because I don’t think it does schools like mine any favours.

“It’s the wording that’s changed, and the wording I think is unhelpful and emotive to parents.

“I’d like to spend a day in a school that doesn’t require improvement.”

Ofsted lead inspector David Jones acknowledged a ‘notable improvement’ in the proportion of students securing fiver higher grade GCSEs and said pupils’ behaviour was good.

But the report criticised the quality of teaching, saying it remained ‘inconsistent’ in most subjects.

The inspector also wrote: “Although standards have risen notably in the last two years, the proportion of students making the expected progress does not exceed the national average.”

He called on the school to improve the amount of good teaching, raise pupil attainment and monitor teaching to make sure it was effective in all subjects.

Mrs Halpin said: “The judgement is pretty much as I was expecting, because the key issues that came out had already been identified.

“We are going to keep facing forwards by improving teaching and learning.”

King Harold, in Broomstick Hall Road, became a member of the Kemnal Academies Trust – which successfully turned around Debden Park High School - in 2009.

Inspectors praised the school’s budget management under the trust, saying it had ‘eliminated the significant budget deficit that existed when the school joined the academy trust, and also secured major government grants towards the refurbishment of the school’.

Mrs Halpin added: “We had a £250,000 deficit when I started – we’ve now got a substantial carry forward thanks to excellent financial management.

“It’s about saying to parents ‘you have got to look beyond stark judgements and stark wordings'.

“You have got to look at the report because it’s very complimentary about the journey the school has made.”

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