‘Leaders’ values and actions are inspirational for staff’ - Ofsted praise for Dewsbury secondary school

The secondary school, on Valley Drive, received an overall ‘good’ grading, with leadership and management rated as ‘outstanding’, after inspectors visited in late February.

The report, which was released on Thursday, April 27, states:

“Leaders have an ambitious vision for education at Thornhill Community Academy. A simple message, ‘Work hard, be nice’, permeates throughout the school. Staff have high expectations for pupils’ achievement and behaviour. Pupils have positive relationships with staff and one another.

“Pupils enjoy coming to school and say that staff are committed to helping them succeed. Inspectors agree. Staff adapt lessons to meet the needs of all pupils well. They have a good understanding of how to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

“Leaders have created a school that serves the community well. An established ethnic minority achievement hub provides language lessons, life skills sessions and support for families. This provision has been transformational for many pupils and parents who have accessed it.”

The report adds: “The commitment of leaders and staff to improving the ambitions and life chances for all pupils is a strength of the school.

“Leaders’ values and actions are inspirational for staff who work at the school. Staff report strong support for their well-being.

“Leaders’ overview of the strengths and areas for development in the school is precise. The actions of leaders to bring about improvements to the quality of education have been highly effective.

“Staff are knowledgeable and passionate. They ask meaningful questions to check pupils’ understanding.”

Headteacher, Matthew Burton, said: “I am very pleased that we have had the chance to show the inspection team what we do.

“The outcome doesn’t change the way we work or what we focus on. Moreover, it strengthens our view that what we do at Thornhill Community Academy works. We focus on the right priorities, we’re clear about what we want, and we have amazing students who do amazing things.

“We will continue to be nice, work hard and push towards ensuring that every single student achieves their potential, in the way we always have.

“As ever, I’m exceptionally proud of what our staff, students and community continue to achieve on a daily basis.”