Ofsted Praises Rapid Improvements
Ofsted has praised the leadership of Kettering Science Academy for transforming the school.
Ofsted has praised the leadership of Kettering Science Academy for transforming the school.
The early years provision, Sixth Form and leadership were all graded as good by inspectors who visited the school in May.
The academy’s governing body was also commended, as inspectors found that it was well trained in scrutinising performance and its members had much expertise in education and business.
The report said: “The principal, head teacher and other leaders, including the local governing body, are transforming the culture and ethos of the academy. They have focused sharply on improving the quality of teaching, with much success that it is improving rapidly. A comprehensive training and support programme and robust systems for holding teachers to account for the progress of their pupils, have improved teachers’ effectiveness.
“Consequently, pupils’ achievement is improving at a fast rate across the academy, and the early years and sixth form provision are now good.”
In a joint statement, Principal of the Secondary phase, Mr Paul Davies and Head Teacher of the Primary Phase Jo Fallowell, said: “This report reflects the hard work and commitment of the staff within the Academy to provide enriching learning experiences as well as the social and cultural development needed for all our pupils to achieve their full potential. We are proud of everything we have achieved thus far and would like to take this opportunity to thank our families for their continued support as we further improve.”
Chair of Governors Steve Barton said: “Our ambition two years ago was to have a school which provided all pupils the same opportunities for a high quality education. We believe that this report validates the work done so far and evidences the strength of our school leaders to deliver the next steps of our journey to becoming a ‘Good’ Academy. I have no doubt that the future of the Academy will see even greater achievements beyond ‘Good.“
The Brooke Weston Trust, which runs the academy was also commended.
The report said: “The Brooke Weston Trust provides very effective support to the academy and makes a very strong contribution to the academy’s ongoing improvements.
Some other areas picked out for praise were: The academy’s uncompromising approach to improving behaviour; the systems put in place to monitor student progress, the use of pupil premium funding and levels of pupil progress across all key stages.
The early years provision was highly praised. The report said: “In this stimulating environment, and with many exciting learning opportunities, all groups of children are thriving.
The quality of teaching, students’ behaviour and academic achievement in the sixth form was commended as good. One-to-one mentoring and teacher guidance were also said by Ofsted to help students leave the Sixth Form set up well for the next stage of their lives.
To improve further, inspectors said that the academy needs to improve some aspects of teaching and communicate better with parents.
Please find the Ofsted report on the Ofsted page on the website.