A York school has been put into special measures by Ofsted – but says it has launched a improvement plan.
Carr Infant School on Ostman Road in Acomb was given the status following an inspection in January.
At its previous inspection in 2022, it was ranked ‘good’.
A school is judged as requiring special measures if leadership and governance is judged as in need of urgent improvement and at least one or more of the other evaluation areas is found to need “urgent improvement”, or safeguarding is “not met”.
Carr Infant School leaders have accepted the findings of the report and say they are already working to turn things around.
To address the areas for improvement identified by Ofsted, the school has drawn up a rapid improvement plan.
This will build on moves started when the governors sought the help of the Excel Learning Trust, who started working with the school at the start of January. That partnership had infused the school with a “renewed sense of energy, vision and drive”, Ofsted found.
Key priorities include strengthening curriculum expertise, raising academic expectations, and improving attendance for all pupil groups.
Interim head of Carr Infant School Matthew Oxley said: “We accept the inspectors’ findings, all of which we had already identified and begun to address through the school’s partnership with Excel Learning Trust.
“We are pleased the report recognises the ‘renewed energy’ within our leadership and the commitment of our staff.
“While there is significant work ahead to reach the standards our children deserve, we now have the right plans and the right support in place to drive these improvements rapidly.”
The report confirmed that the school’s new plans for improvement are “appropriate, precise, and aligned with the school’s needs”. Inspectors also found that “pupils feel safe, settled and happy. They enjoy coming to school and most attend regularly”.
Carr Infant school has 211 pupils aged 3 to 7. The school is currently working with Excel Learning Trust, with a view to turning into an academy and joining the trust in the near future.
As part of the special measures process, Carr Infant School will receive regular monitoring visits from Ofsted to track progress and provide assurance as improvements continue.
