GOOD progress is being made in the work to get Tenbury High School back on track.

A visit from school inspectors has given a tick to the work being led by head teacher Adrian Price to improve the school that was put into special measures at the end of last year.

Adrian Price who took over as head last September has set himself and his team the task of getting the school back where it needs to be within two years.

Feedback on the first visit by Ofsted inspectors since the news has confirmed that good progress is being made.

The recovery plan has been endorsed and the inspectors that were in school in early February say that there are already real signs of progress.

A local authority inspection has also followed at the instigation of the school and this has provided corroboration with a number of lessons described as ‘outstanding.’

“The main thing with a school is education and learning and we are focussed on making sure that the main thing is the main thing,” said Adrian Price.

But he has said that making sure Tenbury High School has a caring environment and strong community links remain important.

Among the changes that are on line is the making of a number of new teaching appointments from next September that will include the creation of a new post of assistant head teacher with a remit to work on teaching standards.

“I am head teacher not head master and I make sure that I spend time in the classroom,” added Adrian Price, although he admitted that the demands of the job involve the majority of his time being spent in a managerial capacity.

“Teaching is the most important thing and when I am recruiting I want to look into the eyes of an applicant and see a passion for teaching.”

But his first appointment was a data analyst and the result of this is detailed and up-to-date information about the progress of every student.

“There are targets for every student and reports on progress go out and the end of every half term,” he added.

“We are also able to track performance against key targets such the number of A to C grade passes we expect.”

The availability of accurate data enables informed decisions and interventions to be made whenever issues and problems become apparent.

Adrian Price said his many years working at schools in Worcestershire was a great help and he praised the support from the local authority.

“I have visited many schools and it is very important to be able to learn not just from the outstanding schools but from others that are facing challenges,” Adrian Price said.

He added that he is very pleased with the progress being made but that getting the school where it wants to be remains work in progress.

“I am very lucky to be at Tenbury High, it is a great school and we have some outstanding teachers,” said Mr Price.