A troubled high school is on the road to recovery thanks to an ambitious new headteacher.
Staff and pupils at Saint Paul’s Catholic High School in Wythenshawe have had a turbulent couple of years.
Last year, Ofsted deemed the school to have ‘serious weaknesses’ and later that year former headteacher, Fiona Minshall, left pending an investigation into leadership at the school.
Now Saint Paul’s has new executive headteacher, Tony Billings, who is determined to transform the school’s fortunes.
He has a proven track record for improving struggling schools after steering All Hallows Catholic College in Macclesfield from special measures to outstanding.
And Mr Billings is confident he can do the same at Saint Paul’s. He says the school is already making strides towards excellence.
Since arriving in April Mr Billings set about uniting the staff room and rejuvenating teaching standards.
He said: “Relationships at the school had broken down and the headteacher has since moved on.
“There was a need to move the school forward in terms of leadership and putting it in a position whereby improvements could start to happen.
“There were a lot of incredibly hard-working people at Saint Paul’s but they were not necessarily working together as a team.”
Changes
Mr Billings started by putting all teachers on a three day training course known as The Teacher Effectiveness Enhancement Programme (TEEP).
Saint Paul’s is also now an official partner of All Hallows in Macclesfield where Mr Billing is still in charge.
Teachers say the school now has more stability. Children say the atmosphere at the school is much more positive.
“It’s a much more enjoyable place to be now,” says new deputy head girl, Megan Hardy.
Ofsted inspectors revisited the school in May and praised the progress being made - marking it up from inadequate to requires improvement.
Mr Billings added: “Now we have a renewed vision and a new sense of purpose.
“As a whole there’s a common language we all speak.
“There’s nothing stopping this school from becoming outstanding.”
