School Improvement

We take School Improvement seriously and are always looking to work with external partner agencies to help us self evaluate and drive improvement. We work closely with:

LA School Improvement Partner and QA - Angela Westington 

Angela has been working with Manchester Secondary PRU since September 2021 and is our LA QA partner. Angela has provided challenge and support to our SLT, especially around key areas such as PSHE and leadership. Her knowledge and expertise has been invaluable to the SLT in supporting our School Improvement journey as part of the 2025 vision.

Angela Westington (Bio)

I am a highly qualified, widely experienced, independent education consultant. I have extensive experience of school improvement, development and inspection across the age-ranges 3-16 years, including early years settings, maintained and independent schools, secondary schools, schools causing concern, pupil referral units and integrated residential provision.

For seventeen years, I was one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) of schools; five of those as a Senior HMI leading and managing two teams of inspectors, Schools and Early Years HMI/Regulatory Inspectors, in the West Midlands. Prior to that, I was an Assistant Divisional Manager and Managing Inspector in the south of England and also worked in the Policy Team in London on two iterations of the section 5 inspection handbook.

My work has taken me all over the country and abroad. I have worked alongside school and system leaders, local authority officers, locally elected members, MATs, MPs, DfE officials, dioceses, MOD and others to pursue educational excellence.

Prior to joining Ofsted, I was a highly successful headteacher, an early example of an executive headteacher running two schools for a time. I also taught on part-time M.Ed and CPD courses at Manchester University. 

A substantial part of my career at Ofsted was devoted to national surveys and I was key author and contributor to significant reports including:

• HMI National Evaluations of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies
• ‘Reading by Six’: how the best schools do it
• ‘Ready to Read’: A review of the teaching of reading in primary schools in Stoke-on Trent
• ‘Bold Beginnings’: The Reception Curriculum in a sample of good and outstanding primary schools.

I also contributed to surveys reviewing the Key Stage 3 curriculum and transition from Key Stage 2 to 3. As Senior HMI in the West Midlands, I instigated and led a very successful programme across six local authorities working with secondary schools in Special Measures or Requiring Improvement to raise standards in reading.

Since leaving Ofsted, I have supported and challenged the full range of schools in my capacity as a consultant and QA Professional and worked on the production of resources and guidance, for a number of clients, including:

• DfE: I was asked to be the project coordinator for a primary reading initiative in Durham, September 2021 to March 2022.
• DfE: I was asked by DfE to be a reviewer of the early reading framework:

The reading framework: teaching the foundations of literacy - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and I am named as such at the back of the document.

• Oxford University Press – acted as consultant and editor for range of primary resources
• Manchester Local Authority: Local Authority QA Professional

Independent School Improvement Partner - Curriculum and Literacy - Anne Seneviratne 

Anne has been working with Manchester Secondary PRU for 2 years. She has offered continuous support and challenge to the new Executive Headteacher and new SLT since February 2021. Her work and advice for our curriculum leaders has been invaluable, in ensuring that we have a sufficiently challenging and ambitious curriculum for our learners. Anne has also supported the Management Committee with the performance management of the Executive Headteacher. 

Anne is a former HMI (2012 to 2020). She is a qualified English teacher and has taught across the full secondary range. She has a range of senior leadership experience in secondary schools and before joining Ofsted she was an academy principal. 

Leadership Coach - Patrick Ottley O'Connor 

Patrick has just started to work with Manchester Secondary PRU in September 2022. He will provide leadership coaching and mentoring to the Executive Headteacher of MSPRU and Headteacher of Bridglea. He will also be working closely with both schools throughout the year on ensuring we have high performing teams right across the Partnership.

Patrick has been a senior leader for 25+ years, including 15 years as a Principal/Executive Principal in secondary, primary and special schools.Patrick coaches many aspiring, new and experienced headteachers and CEOs, particularly those facing significant challenge both in the UK and internationally.He leads and facilitates a variety of leadership programmes, including the NPQ programmes ranging from Middle to Executive Leadership courses.  He is a DfE coach for the Women Leading in Education initiative. Patrick is also a Trustee of the Wardle Trust and founding Director of Collaborative Leadership Ltd