'Outstanding' Ofsted judgement: Dewsbury’s Ethos College praised for ‘ambitious and inclusive curriculum’

Ethos College, which supports pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs as well as special educational needs and/or disabilities, was praised by Ofsted inspectors for creating an ‘ambitious curriculum’ and facilitating an ‘inclusive environment’ for all pupils.

The report outlined how ‘empowered’ pupils felt and noted the ‘dedicated staff who want to see every pupil flourish’. The inspection also highlighted the personal development of pupils as a ‘significant strength’ of the school.

This is a monumental achievement for the school under the new Ofsted framework as it has been revealed that only 17 per cent of 370 ‘outstanding’ schools kept their grade when they had a full reinspection in 2021/2022.

In addition, the college on Knowl Hill Road joins a small number of alternative provisions that hold this prestigious title and is the only alternative provision in Kirklees to do so.

Reflecting on this historic landmark and how the school is making a positive impact in the lives of children with special educational needs and disabilities, head teacher of Ethos College, Rebecca Smith, said: “We are so pleased with the outstanding results of the Ofsted report. It is a culmination of hard-work and dedication of the entire team at Ethos College.

“Our pupils come from various backgrounds and mostly require specialist support to meet their needs. Our bespoke and tailored curriculum has been curated to meet the requirements of each pupil and aims to provide them with highly effective education and support.

“Moreover, we have focused our priority on nurturing an inclusive learning community for our teachers and pupils, which has enabled us to achieve this outstanding outcome.”

The Ofsted report also praised the school’s strong commitment to helping pupils ‘succeed’ and noted that leaders are engaged in ensuring an ‘inclusive school’ environment that is well- designed to meet the needs of each pupil.

The staff and teachers were applauded for working ‘patiently’ to improve pupils’ attitudes towards school and how each of them was ‘well cared’ for and ‘happy’.

The pupils were also described in the report as ‘well behaved’ due to consistent efforts displayed by the ‘highly skilled’ staff who were mentioned as a key reason for the ‘significant attendance’ improvement of the pupils.

Jayne Foster, CEO of Ethos Academy Trust and former head teacher of Ethos College, was ‘delighted’ with the report. She said: “I am immensely proud of Rebecca and the entire team at Ethos College which includes our pupils, past and present.

“Like all of our schools, Ethos College undertakes a holistic approach to ensuring pupils’ needs are identified and met throughout their journey with the school.

“They have adopted a curriculum that addresses their academic needs as well as SEMH needs through quality first teaching and targeted interventions, devotion and determination – preparing them for the next stage of their lives and bright futures ahead.”

To find out more about the Ethos Academy Trust, visit https://www.eat.uk.com/