The school has turned its fortunes around – going from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘outstanding’ in just two and half years – and Ofsted commended the school on its fantastic progress.
It’s one of only a few schools in the country that has improved so rapidly under Ofsted’s new and rigorous inspection framework.
In the glowing report released this week, inspectors judged the school on five main areas – achievement, teaching, behaviour, leadership and post-16 study programmes, and found exceptionally high standards across the board.
During the two-day visit, inspectors observed 32 lessons, looked at pupils’ books, talked to students and held meetings with staff and governors.
Headteacher Tracy Crowder has been praised for her ‘excellent’ leadership and for creating a culture in which pupils and staff ‘flourish’ and ‘excel’.
Tracy is understandably delighted with the rating, she said: “Everyone at Monkseaton High School is ecstatic.
“We have worked so hard to make sure young people get the best education – and we are so pleased with this official recognition of our brilliant school
“It is testimony to the dedication, commitment and achievements of all of the staff, governors and young people – and the support we receive from parents and carers – that we have been judged to be outstanding this time around. I am truly bursting with pride!”
The sharp improvement in the pupils’ achievements since the last inspection is highlighted as a particular strength in the Ofsted report, with the progress of young people now ‘significantly better than that seen nationally’.
Pupils really impressed the inspectors and they complimented them on how ‘polite and respectful’ they are of one another, and of the staff. They noted how well they ‘happily mix’ with each other, they’re ‘keen learners’ who take pride in their work and their behaviour around school was described as ‘exemplary’.
And there was high praise for the teachers too, for having ‘high expectations’, being ‘highly skilled’ and for their ‘engaging’ lessons that lead to ‘rapid progress’ by all pupils. The officials were particularly pleased that the staff know every pupil well which inspectors said has helped to ensure they’re on track to reach their targets.
North Tyneside Elected Mayor, Norma Redfearn added: “I am very proud of everyone at Monkseaton High School – the headteacher, Tracy Crowder; the staff; governors; the parents and of course, the wonderful young people.
“The school has put the success and wellbeing of its pupils at the heart of everything it does, and the report reflects the fact that the school has worked extremely hard to improve over the last couple of years. I’d like to say a huge well done.”