A Donington school is celebrating a remarkable turnaround.
At its previous inspection in 2022 Cowley Academy was deemed ‘inadequate’ across the board.
Now it’s been rated outstanding for leadership and management as well as good in quality of education, behaviour and attitudes and personal development.
Since being placed in special measures it has been taken on by the South Lincolnshire Academies Trust.
A spokesman for that group, which also oversees Spalding Academy, described the turnaround as ‘incredible’.
“Cowley Academy can proudly enter a new era as Ofsted said “students appreciate the significant improvements that have occurred since the school opened in 2022” and “staff embrace and value the changes that have led to significant improvements in recent years,” they said.
Mrs Lucy Conley, chief executive officer at South Lincolnshire Academies Trust said “We can celebrate the many, many highlights in this report across all of the key areas in the inspection.
“I am delighted that this glowing report recognises that Cowley Academy has benefitted from a new era as our trust have a relentless focus on continuous improvement to providing exceptional education to young people.
“For the school leadership to be recognised as ‘Outstanding’ in its first Ofsted inspection is a testament to the wider leadership team across the trust who are highly experienced in making significant improvements as Inspectors praised that we lead with a strong moral purpose.
“The report identified the quality of education as a strength where our dedicated teachers have strong subject knowledge and the curriculum is ambitious as we identify the knowledge and skills students need to learn.
“As a ‘reading school’, Inspectors were impressed with how we promote students’ love of reading.
“In our schools, we set high expectations for behaviour, and students were commended for their behaviour as lessons are calm and purposeful so they learn well, it was also observed how well students conduct themselves at breaktimes.
“We know how much families and students appreciate the strength of pastoral care in the school and students said they feel safe and know who to turn to if they have worries or concerns.
“Where we provide many opportunities for students’ personal development, it was noted that the PSHE education offer is carefully structured and the school’s careers, advice and guidance provision was particularly strong.
“Inspectors recognise the school has made many changes over the past two years to strengthen the provision for SEND students as teachers already use key information to adapt their teaching and SEND students access the same learning as their peers.
“Improving SEN is part of the journey of improvements and we are fully committed to ensuring students with SEND will achieve highly in the future.
“In the past two years, the school has already expanded the enrichment and extra-curricular programme during lunchtimes and after school, and introduced many new external trips for different year groups, such as visiting Peterborough Cathedral and Faizan E Madina Mosque, geography field trips to Hunstanton and sports trips to Wimbledon and Wembley Stadium.
“This is another area of focus that will continue to develop as in the next academic year over 40 students are already looking forward to a skiing trip in Andorra.
“During the inspection, I would like to praise every member of staff who are proud to be part of this school as we have been on an incredible journey.
“Our amazing students, who have a strong sense of belonging to both the school and Trust could not have done any more to demonstrate how great Cowley Academy is. They are all the heartbeat of what makes this school a truly special place and embodies our core key values of Aspire, Challenge, Achieve.”
