Danesgate Community

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 30 March 2022

This school is full of warmth and friendliness. Pupils are well cared for and supported to do well. Staff want the very best for pupils and decisions are made in their best interests. One parent noted, 'Nothing is too much trouble in this school.' This was typical of the views of many parents. Behaviour is good. The school is calm. Pupils are welcoming. Pupils are happy to meet visitors and are proud to show them their work. Pupils help and support each other in and out of lessons. They are considerate and polite. Relationships between staff and pupils are strong. When pupils need help, staff know what to do. Leaders' expectations of pupils are high. Leaders push pupils to 'strive, thrive and achieve'. Staff understand pupils' needs. Pupils believe strongly that staff support them. Pupils appreciate the different range of academic and sporting opportunities available to them in school and during after-school clubs. The vast majority of staff, parents and pupils who communicated with inspectors believe that bullying is not an issue. If incidents do happen, they are dealt with quickly and effectively. Pupils feel safe and are happy in school.

What the school should improve

• Leaders have identified ambitious endpoints for the curriculum in all subjects. In most instances, the curriculum identifies the component knowledge that pupils need to know to reach these endpoints. However, within some subjects, this is inconsistent. As a result, teachers are not always given clarity as to what component knowledge should be taught and when. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum consistently and clearly identifies the component knowledge that should be taught to pupils.
• A small minority of key stage 3 and 4 pupils arrive at school with gaps in their reading knowledge. Some secondary school staff have not had sufficient training on how to teach early reading. This means that these pupils are not catching up as quickly as they should. Leaders need to ensure that their plans to strengthen the teaching of reading to secondary school pupils are implemented and ensure that all staff have been well trained.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)