Deyes High School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 September 2024

Pupils enjoy attending this school. They are proud of their new building and facilities. Staff frequently invite pupils to share their views about school. For example, students in the sixth form appreciated being consulted about the design of some of the new student spaces. This helps pupils to feel valued. Pupils, of all ages, spoke warmly of their positive relationships with staff. The school's 'your best Deyes' passport sets pupils a series of challenges to complete each year. These encourage pupils to make a positive difference to the school community and to develop their character. They take pride in these achievements, for instance pupils help to organise fundraising activities for charity. Typically, pupils conduct themselves sensibly as they move around the school. They are well mannered and respectful. Classrooms are calm and orderly environments where learning is not usually disrupted. The school has high aspirations for pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). It has ensured that the curriculum is suitably ambitious. However, there are weaknesses in how well the curriculum is taught in key stages 3 and 4 which have hindered some pupils' learning. Pupils in these key stages, including those with SEND, do not achieve as well as they should.

What the school should improve

• Some teachers do not use the school's agreed learning strategies and assessment processes as effectively as they should. This makes it harder for pupils to build a secure understanding in some subjects. The school should ensure that teachers benefit from appropriate guidance and support to enable them to deliver and assess pupils' learning of the curriculum consistently well.
• Some pupils with SEND do not benefit from consistently high-quality support to access the curriculum. Consequently, some pupils with SEND do not achieve well. The school should ensure that it carefully evaluates and improves the support that pupils with SEND receive to ensure that they learn successfully and can fulfil their aspirations.
• Some of the school's processes to evaluate its quality of education do not provide it with sufficient oversight of how well pupils are learning the curriculum. Therefore, on occasions, the school does not accurately identify the most appropriate actions that are needed to improve. The school and the trust should review their approach to quality assuring the curriculum to ensure that they gather the information that they need to continue to drive the improvement of the school.

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