Copenhagen Primary School removed from “Special Measures”

An extensive programme of improvements at Copenhagen Primary School has led to it being removed from 'Special Measures' by Ofsted.

Harsha Patel, head teacher at Copenhagen Primary, described the announcement as "momentous" and praised the whole school community for their support and hard work over the past 18 months.

Copenhagen Primary was placed in Special Measures after an Ofsted inspection in September 2013. Inspectors judged that the school was failing to give its students an acceptable standard of education.

As a result, Copenhagen was required to produce an action plan to demonstrate how they would improve and was subject to regular, short-notice monitoring visits from inspectors.

Following the most recent inspection, which took place on 10-11 March, Ofsted reports that “all areas for improvement identified at the last inspection have been successfully addressed” and no longer requires Special Measures.

Its report, published today, praises Miss Patel for being “tenacious in driving improvements in teaching, behaviour and the early years”. The inspectors found that “a culture of pupils and staff striving to ‘be the best you can be’” now existed.

The school has been given a "Good" rating in four areas: Leadership and Management; Behaviour and Safety of Pupils; Quality of Teaching; and Early Years. The inspectors judge that one area - Achievement of Pupils - still "Requires Improvement". The report recognises the school’s capacity for continued improvement.

Miss Patel, who took up her post just two weeks before the original inspection, says: "This rapid progress over the past 18 months fills me with hope that, before long, we will have made the necessary improvements to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ grading.

"I would like to thank every member of the Copenhagen school community - staff, parents/carers, IEB, Local Authority and the children themselves - for all of your hard work you've put in to transform our school into a positive, exciting and thriving place to learn."

Mark Taylor, Director of Learning and Schools, congratulated Miss Patel and all the staff at Copenhagen Primary on the outcome of the inspection. "This report from Ofsted  recognises the hard work  and dedication of the whole school community to bring about improvement for all the children at the school. I am confident the rapid progress achieved over the last 18 months will continue, and the school will go from strength to strength."