de Stafford School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 12 June 2024

The school offers a welcoming environment for pupils. They behave well with each other and staff. Classrooms, corridors and outside spaces are orderly. Staff supervision is vigilant, including from leaders, who are a visible presence around the school. Pupils are kept safe and feel that the little bullying that happens is typically tackled well by staff. The school aims for high educational standards for its pupils. For those who attend well, these aspirations are met. Teachers work hard to support pupils. Most pupils also work hard in lessons. Relationships between teachers and pupils are positive, leading to a productive atmosphere for learning in classrooms. The school is working tenaciously to improve the attendance of the minority of pupils who miss too much time. Overall attendance is below the national average, but is rising. Regular reminders mean that all pupils know good attendance is important. They appreciate the rewards for attending well. Support for individual pupils is a high priority for the school's leaders and staff. Pupils are well supported in learning to respect each other and to be ready for later life. The school offers a broad curriculum, which pupils enjoy. This goes beyond academic subjects and includes a wide range of enrichment activities.

What the school should improve

• A minority of pupils miss school regularly and therefore do not achieve all they should. The school should pursue vigorously its work with families of regularly absent pupils in order to ensure that pupils' attendance rises further.
• When pupils return to lessons after absences, support is not consistently effective. Pupils do not always understand what to do, which hinders their learning. The trust needs to improve the capacity of teachers to support these pupils by making sure that agreed approaches are implemented consistently well.
• Teachers do not always check that pupils have understood new learning before moving on. This means that pupils' knowledge is not always built securely. The school should ensure that teachers routinely use effective strategies to check that pupils have grasped new material.

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