Page 2 | St Ursula's Convent School Greenwich, SE London

ConstantastheNorthernStar · 23/03/2024 12:59

@Smc4 Out of interest, are there any nuns still teaching at the school or involved with it?

Smc4 · 23/03/2024 13:11

Hello, the nuns haven't taught for 10 years or more at the school. In fact the convent associated with the school on crooms hill has recently closed and the sisters have relocated. There is still a catholic ethos at the school and collective worship is a strong feature. There are regular all school masses at our ladye star of the sea next door, and the priest is well known to the school community.

Original poster

runningandjumping · 26/03/2024 17:06

A question to those who currently have daughters in the school: how did the school react to the OFSTED results? Are there measures in place to improve things? Are thre plans to change the Senior management team ?

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TizerorFizz · 26/03/2024 17:49

@runningandjumping Don't have a DS there, but I’m aware that schools should have an improvement plan that focuses very sharply on what it needs to improve. There will be an existing one but it will need much greater emphasis on the issues requiring improvement. You cannot drop all your other balls though! With RI, it’s highly likely the governors will retain confidence in SLT as Head not been there that long. Schools can share an executive summary of the improvement plan and I think it’s good practice to do so. It gains parental understanding of what SLT is trying to do and hopefully buy into it.

An improvement plan should be detailed and say exactly how the improvement will be measured. SLT must be able to prove improvement has taken place! They are not drawn up overnight. They should have the assistance of a school improvement partner and clearly expertise in Sen is needed within school. These issues are never quick fixes.

Ofsted might arrive for a monitoring visit to match progress against the plan. However SLT and the governors should be relentlessly doing this anyway via school data. I would expect to see a clear start made on implementing the plan next term .

Original poster

runningandjumping · 27/03/2024 00:00

TizerorFizz · 26/03/2024 17:49

@runningandjumping Don't have a DS there, but I’m aware that schools should have an improvement plan that focuses very sharply on what it needs to improve. There will be an existing one but it will need much greater emphasis on the issues requiring improvement. You cannot drop all your other balls though! With RI, it’s highly likely the governors will retain confidence in SLT as Head not been there that long. Schools can share an executive summary of the improvement plan and I think it’s good practice to do so. It gains parental understanding of what SLT is trying to do and hopefully buy into it.

An improvement plan should be detailed and say exactly how the improvement will be measured. SLT must be able to prove improvement has taken place! They are not drawn up overnight. They should have the assistance of a school improvement partner and clearly expertise in Sen is needed within school. These issues are never quick fixes.

Ofsted might arrive for a monitoring visit to match progress against the plan. However SLT and the governors should be relentlessly doing this anyway via school data. I would expect to see a clear start made on implementing the plan next term .

Thanks for your input !

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TizerorFizz · 27/03/2024 08:12

Not sure why I typed DS!

ByTidySwan · 23/04/2024 21:03

runningandjumping · 02/03/2024 04:32

Hi everyone, I would appreciate your honest opinions on this school. DD got a place, it wasn't our first choice, but my impressions from the open day were really positive. Thank you!

Our daughter goes to this school and I couldn't be more disappointed in how the school has performed. Constant teacher strikes during 2023/24 - now pushing 20 days of strikes. The recent Ofsted rating of Requires Improvement is very apt, and fundamentally the senior leadership are responsible for low morale among teaching staff. I wouldn't recommend this school while the current senior leadership are in situ. The trajectory is still currently downwards and isn't about to improve unfortunately.

ConstantastheNorthernStar · 24/04/2024 11:14

@ByTidySwan I'm so sorry to hear that. What a shame - it was a great school for decades.

Original poster

runningandjumping · 24/04/2024 14:55

ByTidySwan · 23/04/2024 21:03

Our daughter goes to this school and I couldn't be more disappointed in how the school has performed. Constant teacher strikes during 2023/24 - now pushing 20 days of strikes. The recent Ofsted rating of Requires Improvement is very apt, and fundamentally the senior leadership are responsible for low morale among teaching staff. I wouldn't recommend this school while the current senior leadership are in situ. The trajectory is still currently downwards and isn't about to improve unfortunately.

Show quote history

Many thanks for your input. Can I ask if there are plans to put any measures in place or to hire a new management team?

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Yvie33 · 17/05/2024 13:03

Looks like things are sorted out now. What do you guys reckon?

St Ursula's Convent School Greenwich, SE London

Original poster

runningandjumping · 22/05/2024 12:22

Hopefully this will improve things!

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Cheryl1986 · 09/07/2024 11:55

I did an in year application year 7 for my daughter who was attending Woolwich Polytechnic school for girls. Only reason I wanted to move her was because St ursulas was on my doorstep. This was my biggest regret ever. There was no waiting list and she got offered a place immediately. This would not have happened a few years ago, my eldest daughter did not stand a chance getting a space and was number 86 on the waiting list. After I accepted the space I did some research and was disappointed to see the latest ofsted but still have the school a go.
My daughter started in May 2024 and I have now taken her out and she returned to her old school yesterday. St Ursulas is failing big time. There were 6 planned strike days in May, luckily they were cancelled. There are hardly any teachers and most lessons covered by a supply teacher who have no control over the class. My daughter did not get one piece of homework in the 2 months she was there. Receptionist in the main office is an arrogant lady who hasn’t got a care in the world. Many girls are leaving and many are planning to leave. I don’t know how once such a brilliant school has deteriorated dramatically. I could not risk my child’s happiness and education leaving her at this school. Only positive thing I can say is that they are taking in children of different faiths now.

8oe · 12/09/2024 18:48

Please do not be fooled by the reviews from years ago. Reviews do not compare to being there. Many people (students and teachers) have left or are planning to leave. There is a severe bullying issue, continuous teacher strikes and very very little support for neither students nor teachers.

newmum1976 · 27/09/2024 17:27

Does anybody know this year’s GCSE results for the school? It’s all very quiet which doesn’t bode well.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 27/09/2024 17:42

newmum1976 · 27/09/2024 17:27

Does anybody know this year’s GCSE results for the school? It’s all very quiet which doesn’t bode well.

The DfE won't issue the progress measures for some time yet - and then it's subject to a strict embargo where the school is forbidden to release them until a specified date. They're also running later this year (possibly at least in part due to taking the data processing in house from an external contractor). So you can't infer anything from this, as it's nothing to do with schools.

newmum1976 · 27/09/2024 17:50

Most schools publish topline results on their website on results day e.g Thomas Tallis, John Roan, Eltham Hill, Prendergast etc etc but nothing for St Ursula’s. I’ve since found something that says a number of pupils got a mixture of grade 7-9, so not great results really. https://www.stursulas.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Press-Release-22-08-2024-1.pdf