On Thursday 20 January, we received an interim inspection from Ofsted to see how we have been getting on with our plan to improve professional standards across Duke’s Secondary School.

A great deal of work has been going on behind the scenes and we are delighted to see that our collective efforts have been recognised in our latest monitoring report, a full copy of which can be found below.

Key summary points:

• Leaders have taken significant strides towards the removal of the serious weaknesses designation.
• Leaders have developed a culture in which school improvement is everyone’s responsibility.
• Faculty leaders, working with their teams, have developed curriculums that clearly identify key learning aims for each year. It is now clear what pupils need to know, and when.
• Staff and pupils are unanimous in praising the transformation in the behaviour strategy since the previous inspection. It is allowing teachers to teach, and pupils to learn.
• Two external reviews of SEND provision have helped to refine the school’s development plan so that pupils with SEND are better supported.

Details of all of our past Ofsted inspections can be found here.