Praise for school from Ofsted

A Sleaford secondary school is celebrating after earning praise from the Government’s education watchdog.
St George's Academy, in Sleaford, is celebrating the results of its latest Ofsted inspection.St George's Academy, in Sleaford, is celebrating the results of its latest Ofsted inspection.
St George's Academy, in Sleaford, is celebrating the results of its latest Ofsted inspection.

St George’s Academy, in Westgate, welcomed Ofsted last month for a ‘short inspection’ (one-day visits for ‘good’ schools).

On Friday, inspectors published their findings, saying the school ‘continues to be good’ and safeguarding is ‘effective’. Highlights included:

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n “The detailed plans to address any areas that require improvement are clear and appropriate.”

n “[Teachers] plan lessons effectively and encourage pupils to participate well. Teachers use questioning effectively to probe pupils’ knowledge and understanding. Consequently, most pupils make progress in most subjects.”

n “Teachers and pupils have very positive relationships. Pupils are polite, well-mannered and behave very well in lessons and around the school. [...] Pupils follow instructions quickly and lessons flow with minimal disruption. Instances of serious poor behaviour are rare and, consequently, exclusions are low.”

Inspectors also say the school has ‘responded very well to the areas of improvement from the last inspection’. This was carried out in July 2015 and saw the school rated as ‘good’ in all areas.

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Alongside the praise, inspectors noted a number of areas for improvement. It recommended the leaders and governors:

n “Continue to take action to improve provision and outcomes for students in the sixth form so that progress is at least consistently good.”

n “Continue to eliminate relative underperformance in English so that pupils’ progress is similar to that in the best-performing subjects.”

n “Continue to take action to ensure that the pupil premium grant is used even more effectively to improve the attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils.”

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Principal Wayne Birks said: “This is another excellent outcome for the academy and I am delighted that Ofsted acknowledged the hard work of staff and students in their report.

“I am particularly pleased that St George’s students were recognised for their overwhelmingly good behaviour and positive attitude to learning and I pay tribute to all those who have contributed to this success.

“My colleagues, in particular, deserve the most praise. It is their hard work, enthusiasm and dedication on an hour by hour and day to day basis that makes St George’s such a good school and I am heartened that their efforts have been recognised by Ofsted.”

You can read the full report by searching for the school at reports.ofsted.gov.uk