De Aston School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 8 March 2022

Pupils are proud to be part of De Aston School and enjoy attending. The school is a calm, safe and supportive environment for them. Pupils are encouraged to 'believe, strive and achieve'. This helps them to grow in confidence and become more resilient. Pupils are friendly and polite to each other, staff and visitors. Sometimes, a small number of pupils do not meet the school's high expectations of behaviour. Pupils say that staff deal well with instances of poor behaviour. Bullying is not tolerated at the school. Pupils say that it rarely happens. If it does, staff take it seriously and act quickly to resolve any issues. The school's 'Call it out' programme has helped to ensure that all pupils feel safe and happy at the school. Leaders want the best for every pupil. Expectations are high. They have ensured that the curriculum offers a broad range of subjects for pupils to study in all key stages. Most pupils enjoy their lessons. They appreciate the many opportunities that the school offers them, including involvement in charity work. Pupils say that they work hard to make good progress. Students in the sixth form appreciate the extra and effective help and support they receive.

What the school should improve

• The intent and implementation of the curriculum are not fully effective in a small number of subjects. Sometimes, pupils are not always set the demanding work of which they are capable. When this happens, pupils do not achieve as well as they might. All leaders should ensure that their plans for, and the delivery of, the curriculum are equally ambitious in all subjects, so that all pupils know and remember more of what is taught.
• Leaders are ambitious for pupils with SEND. However, the support these pupils receive is inconsistent. There is variability in how well teachers support some of these pupils to access the curriculum. This can result in some pupils with SEND being left with gaps in their knowledge. Leaders must ensure that all teachers have the knowledge and skills they need to help these pupils to achieve well.
• Leaders' new policy for managing the behaviour of pupils is making a positive difference. However, there are small pockets of low-level disruption and antisocial behaviour, particularly in key stage 3. Leaders need to ensure that staff are consistent in their application of the school's behaviour management policy. Leaders also need to ensure that all pupils know to respect and follow the school's expectations for their conduct.

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