Staff feel valued, pupils are increasingly confident and teaching is good at Donington’s Thomas Cowley High School, inspectors say.
In a short Ofsted inspection report published last week (June 3), the school was judged still to be “good.”
The report, to headteacher Ian Dawson, said: “The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school.”
It added: “Your vision is to give students an equal chance, irrespective of their needs or circumstances, and that they should leave the school having made progress.
“The school is a warm and welcoming place. With the support of the governing body, you have developed a school that knows its pupils well.
“As a result, staff feel valued, pupils are increasingly confident and teaching is good.”
In 2016, results overall at GCSE were below the national averages, particularly for those who are disadvantaged and the most able pupils, the report said. But it added that the school’s internal assessment information shows that outcomes for this year will improve.
The school was advised it could improve further by ensuring:
- The school’s policy for teachers to feedback to pupils in such a way that helps them to improve their work is consistently applied;
- All subject leaders evaluate regularly and rigorously the effectiveness of their work to ensure that it is helping pupils make more rapid progress;
- The strategies to improve attendance are further refined to make them even more effective.
The school last had a full inspection in 2012 before conversion to an academy.
In September, it was inspected due to concerns about behaviour but that report also found “high standards of behaviour” observed at the previous inspection were still evident.
