WITNEY’S Wood Green School could be out of special measures next summer.

Headteacher Robert Shadbolt told parents this week that a full Ofsted inspection could take place between April and October next year.

The education watchdog placed the Woodstock Road secondary school in special measures a year ago.

Mr Shadbolt told the Witney Gazette that his focus was now on improving the attainment of pupils who have special needs or are disadvantaged.

He said: “We monitor and track progress all the time and have a very clear picture of where we are up to. Lots of progress has been made and although there is strength in many areas, others still need improvement.

“Those are now the areas we will be tracking closely and, when we feel we are in a strong position, we will discuss a full inspection.”

Ofsted yesterday published a report on its latest monitoring inspection of the school, carried out on November 5.

Inspector Sarah Hubbard said the school was making “reasonable progress” and could now hire newly-qualified teachers again.

She said the school still needed to improve the effectiveness of its leadership, the quality of teaching and the attainment of students, including those less able or those who received pupil premium funding.

Mr Shadbolt said the school aimed to be out of special measures by August, or next October at the latest.

Two more monitoring inspections are expected next year and school leaders and Ofsted can agree during such visits that they can become a full inspection.

Mr Shadbolt said: “What other schools have experienced in the past is if inspectors come along to do a monitoring visit, through negotiation, the nature of that inspection can be changed to a full one, even on the day.”

He added: “Our ambition is to achieve that as quickly as possible and I would like that to be before August.

“Our aim is to keep improving.”