Sacred Heart Catholic Academy have implemented ‘effective’ change to achieve a much improved Ofsted report
A Merseyside school said they have embraced the ‘healing process’ and accepts there’s no ‘silver bullet’ solution when it comes to providing a quality education. Sacred heart Catholic Academy (SHCA) in Crosby has just been inspected by Ofsted and the report shows significant improvements since the school was last assessed.
Ofsted inspectors last visited the school back in October 2021 when it was known as Sacred Heart Catholic College. The inspection report rated the school Inadequate and stated: “Serious weaknesses in the leadership of the school mean that pupils, including students in the sixth form, do not receive the education that they deserve.”
This time, Ofsted rated Sacred Heart as Requires Improvement across all categories, which is considerable improvement on the 2021 report. Ofsted noted the school is “ambitious for all pupils to succeed” and acknowledged their commitment to ensuring “all pupils have access to a high-quality, broad and ambitious curriculum”.
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SHCA was launched in 2022 when the Pope Francis Multi Academy Trust took over the management of the school. Their aim was to turn around the school’s fortunes and make it a place ‘pupils are proud to be a part of’. One of the first things the Trust did was to introduce a new leadership team in the form of headteacher, Mr O’Hagan and associate headteacher, Mr Cassidy.
Responding to a question about the school’s improvement journey since he took over, Mr O’Hagan said: “We sat down with the Trust and with their permission, we asked for a complete reset. So we brought in new structures, we brought in new systems and asked searching questions of ourselves. It really allowed us to start from scratch.
“It’s very hard at the start, but as you gain a bit of momentum, things improve faster. We had to understand the previous inadequate rating and be open and honest about it and know we all have to change it together. There’s no silver bullet and we are not looking for quick fixes or easy answers.
“What each report says is that our school is moving forward with a real determination to get the very best for our students – and across the board we are seeing real, sustained and positive progress.”
Mr Cassidy is the associate headteacher of Sacred heart and believes the school’s community engagement has helped them shape and improve their provision since the Trust took on the management of SHCA, he said: “It’s been very much a healing process over the course of the last two years. We feel like we’re now in a position where we have got a genuine alternative to other schools in the area.
“We spent time in the local parishes and spoke to the parishioners, many whom have children attending this school and talked about the development here and how to move from where it was to where it now is. We wanted to explain where we see it going in the future and that’s been really well received.”
Ofsted identified areas for further improvement around the gaps in pupils’ knowledge and recommended more support for teachers to address these gaps. Another cause for concern was around the low levels of attendance of disadvantaged pupils who are ‘missing out’ on important learning. Ofsted noted that SHCA had already implemented systemic changes in both of these areas and would monitor their progress.
