THE school once heralded as a shining example to the rest of the country has been rated as inadequate in almost every area by Ofsted.

UTC Swindon was opened in 2014 with great fanfare, even being chosen as the backdrop for David Cameron’s manifesto launch the following year.

But when inspectors visited the school for the first time in January, they found that its leadership, teaching, pupil outcomes and the quality of its 16 to 19 study programmes were inadequate.

Placing the school into special measures, their report concluded that it was “failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education” and that “the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvements.”

In response to the damning report, the board has moved quickly to bring in new leadership in the form of Executive Principal Joanne Harper.

Joanne performs the same role at UTC Reading which was the first UTC to be rated outstanding across all areas.

She had been involved with assisting the team in Swindon since late last year in her capacity as a National Leader for Education and said Ofsted’s conclusions came as little surprise.

“You’ve only got to look at the headline data to know that it will have given them cause for concern,” said Joanne.

“There are elements of the report, much of it, that we absolutely recognise. It wasn’t a surprise to us.

“In fact, as the report says, the governors and leadership had already identified areas where we needed to improve and had started to put actions in place.”

Additional members of the senior leadership team from UTC Reading are also offering support to their Swindon colleagues as work begins to turn around the school’s fortunes.

It has also been confirmed that UTC Swindon will become part of the Activate Learning Education Trust by the start of the next school year.

The Trust is made up of four other schools, including high-performing UTC Reading and UTC Oxfordshire.

But there is still a steep road ahead, a reality not lost on the new Executive Principal.

“We are where we are,” said Joanne. “This is the time for a fresh start.

“It’s about bringing the curriculum alive and giving our students that passion for engineering that UTCs are designed to deliver.”

The quality of teaching, and the teachers themselves, came under fire in the report – student feedback, lesson planning, and the level at which work was pitched, were all criticised.

To tackle the issue, all teaching staff will be put through additional training courses to ensure that they are delivering at the standard required to give students the opportunities they need in the classroom.

Another main area of criticism was that UTC Swindon did not have the crucial links with industry that are supposed to be at the core of their curriculum.

These links are at the heart of the UTC concept and where a college has achieved outstanding outcomes, as is the case at UTC Reading, the close participation of industry partners has been key.

Joanne is committed to rebuilding those vital relationships and says it will assist with bringing pupil numbers up to the levels originally intended for the schools.

“We need an incredibly strong, purposeful relationship with industry partners,” she said.

“If word on the street is that when you come to UTC Swindon you will be engrossed in engineering then those students who are looking for that will want to come here.”

She also acknowledged that in the past, the school has been too isolated from the rest of Swindon’s education community and vowed that in future, there would be far closer ties.

“I’m committed to working in partnership with other head teachers - we need to have some clear and honest conversations.

“We’ll also be getting involved with Swindon Challenge – I’ve spoken with Peter Nathan (Head of Education at Swindon Borough Council) about being as closely involved as we can."

The UTC now faces termly inspections by Her Majesty’s Inspectors to see how they are progressing along the path to being removed from special measures status.

That work will not happen overnight, but Joanne is taking a positive stance and is looking to be in a very different place when the school is returned to routine Ofsted inspections.

“I’m confident,” she said. “The ambition is that when we get inspected in 12 to 18 months we can come out as a good school.”

LOCAL REACTION

The Ofsted report into UTC Swindon comes against a backdrop of challenging times across many of the town's schools.

The same inspecting body has been highly critical of education provision in Swindon as a whole and last year took the unusual step of issuing a public letter calling for action.

In the months that have followed, the fate of Swindon's schools and the best way to achieve improvements has become a divisive political issue.

It should come as no surprise, therefore, that those on different sides of the political divide have reacted with varying views to news of UTC Swindon’s inadequate rating.

Council leader David Renard called the outcome “disappointing” and said the issues it highlighted were “important and need to be addressed rapidly.”

But he welcomed the news that the UTC would be joining the Activate Learning Education Trust where it could benefit from sharing best practice with other schools, including the outstanding UTC Reading.

Coun Renard added: “UTC Swindon also now shares its leader with that top-rated institution, giving us further confidence that a corner has now been turned.

“However, there is no room for complacency and the council is very glad that we have been asked to work closely with the Trust and its partners to help ensure that significant improvements follow. Some of these should be swift whilst others will inevitably take time to achieve.

“We have been aware of the issues facing the UTC and support was repeatedly offered but, sadly, it was refused. As with all independently-run academies, it is not in our gift to force the matter, but we did raise our concerns with the Regional Schools Commissioner.

“This exciting new partnership signals a fresh start and we look forward to seeing a business-like ethos prevail at UTC Swindon, which will fully prepare its students for the working world and help them to fulfil their true potential.”

The Swindon Labour Group raised concerns about UTC Swindon’s performance last year and wrote to Ofsted urging them to carry out an inspection.

The party’s education spokesman, Carol Shelley, said: “I am disappointed but not at all surprised by this judgement. The poor performance and outcomes at Swindon UTC have been known for some time.

“It is crucial that Swindon council and the Regional Schools Commissioner do all they can to quickly improve the outcomes of students currently within the college.

“However, with low pupil numbers at the college and Ofsted’s inadequate judgement, I do think we now need to review whether Swindon UTC should remain as an education provider in the town.”

But South Swindon MP, Robert Buckland, was more positive about the potential for future improvement.

“Our UTC has had a tough start and I think has suffered from being perceived as a cuckoo in the nest rather than a welcome addition to the range of educational choices for our young people,” he said.

“I am concerned that some people seem to be willing it to fail. It deserves our encouragement, not wholesale condemnation.

“I am confident that the new arrangements for our UTC will lead to improved outcomes for students in the years ahead.”