DESPITE making significant improvements to achieve a ‘satisfactory’ Ofsted report, a Dunstable school has aspirations of being labelled ‘outstanding’.
All Saints Academy, formerly Northfields School, opened its doors in September 2009.
Northfields was put under special measures by Ofsted in early 2000s, but this year’s report was full of praise for the way in which the academy has improved.
It said: “Since the academy opened, much has been achieved, notably in raising attainment, improving behaviour, raising attendance and significantly lowering persistent absence.
“Attainment has improved considerably from the predecessor school.”
But principal Tom Waterworth is not about to rest on his laurels.
He said: “We have extremely high aspirations for ourselves, our students and our community, and whilst we are pleased with the outcome of the Ofsted inspection, we are still ambitious to strive to be an outstanding academy.”
Ofsted noted that exam results improved over the last two years, with the amount of students achieving five A*-C GCSE grades including maths and science rising from 22 to 37 per cent.
Not including maths and science, the number of students achieving five A*-C grades jumped from 22 to 77 per cent over the same period.
Also, very positive responses given in questionnaires led inspectors to conclude that students feel very safe within the school, and are very happy about the quality of pastoral care provided.
Ofsted was not the only hurdle the academy had to overcome recently, as it has also been inspected by the church of England’s statutory inspectors of Anglican schools.
The church’s inspector found All Saints to be “a good school with some outstanding features.”
The report commended the “distinctive Christian character that runs through all aspects of the academy and the sense of purpose and vitality within the academy”.
Mr Waterworth is proud of the way the academy functions.
He said: “To us, education is not simply about preparing us for the workplace; it is also about the development of the whole person and finding ways to use our newly acquired skills and knowledge in the service of others.
“I am delighted that this and many other strengths have been noticed in the Ofsted and SIAS reports.”