School retains ‘good’ rating

OUTWOOD Academy Shafton continues to be a ‘good’ school following an unrated Ofsted inspection – but the governing body admits the evidence gathered suggests the result ‘might not be as high’ if a graded inspection took place.

In September, the school received a section eight inspection, meaning no grade was announced – but inspectors confirmed that the institute has an issue with attendance and behaviour, and as such a graded inspection could see the grade lowered from ‘Good’.

The report states: “Leaders analyse behaviour data regularly.

“They act swiftly based on what this analysis tells them. Leaders have significantly reduced the number of pupils receiving a suspension for poor behaviour.

“While, for some groups of pupils, suspensions and other sanctions remain more frequent than the school wants, leaders have appropriate strategies in place to reduce these further.

“Teachers actively teach pupils to behave positively using the school’s behaviour curriculum.

“The school knows that improving attendance is of the utmost importance.

“Leaders have increased the capacity of the inclusion team to aid this issue.

“They work with families to understand the causes of pupils’ absence.”

However, the inspectors did find a number of positives at the school.

“The school, with the support of the trust, has developed an ambitious curriculum for pupils across a range of subjects,” the report added.

“Subject leaders adjust the curriculum to reflect the diverse needs of pupils in this school.

“Leaders have thought carefully about what the most important knowledge is.

“They have decided in what order pupils should learn this new knowledge.

“Leaders ensure that important vocabulary and misconceptions are identified and used to inform lessons.”