Education inspectors warn Worksop secondary school could lose top Ofsted grade

Outwood Academy Valley, on Valley Road, received a two-day ungraded inspection by education watchdog Ofsted inspectors in November last year to establish whether it was still an ‘outstanding’ school.

The secondary school, which is part of Outwood Grange Academies Trust, was last graded in May 2017, however inspectors have warned if the latest visit was graded it could have lost its top mark.

The report, which was published this week, stated: “There has been no change to this school’s overall judgement of outstanding as a result of this ungraded inspection.

“However, the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might not be as high if a graded inspection were carried out now.”

Inspectors said “most” pupils enjoy coming to school and want to learn, and many live up to the staff’s high standards of being ‘safe, respectful and responsible’.

The report read: “Pupils benefit from taking part in a wealth of enrichment experiences. Pupils enjoy sporting competitions and musical productions. They donate to the local foodbank and support national charities.

“Pupils who need help with their reading get close support from well-trained staff. This helps these pupils become accurate and self-assured readers.

“Many parents and carers typically comment that their children thrive in this school community.”

But it noted a “minority of pupils” struggle to behave as they should, and some pupils are “repeatedly suspended”.

Last year, the school was found to have the second highest rate of suspensions of schools across Nottinghamshire in the academic year 2020/21. Department for Education figures revealed a rate of 37.5 temporary exclusions per 100 pupils.

The inspectors wrote: “The number of suspensions has reduced since the start of the academic year. However, it is still too high.

“Some pupils are repeatedly suspended from school because of their behaviour. Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND (special educational needs and/or disabilities) are suspended more often than their peers.

“Pupils who are suspended from school miss out on essential learning and rich experiences.

“Leaders need to reduce the number of suspensions and, in particular, the number of pupils who are repeatedly suspended. They need to ensure that pupils who are suspended from school get the support they need to improve their conduct.”

The report also noted that some pupils have “gaps in their learning”, and inspectors urged school leaders to ensure that teachers’ expectations of what all pupils can achieve are “consistently high”, and that they implement the curriculum “consistently well” so pupils are successful in all subjects.

When a school is rated outstanding, education watchdogs Ofsted will visit the school around once every four years to check if it remains outstanding.

However, if inspectors find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is usually carried out within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection.

Ofsted said the next inspection will be graded.

A spokesperson from Outwood Grange Academies Trust said: “We are delighted that there has been no overall change to the ‘Outstanding’ judgement at Outwood Academy Valley.

“We’d like to thank students, staff, parents, carers and the wider community for their continued support and their ongoing commitment as we work towards the required improvements in preparation for the next inspection; which we hope will better highlight the many positive attributes of the academy.”