Wolverhampton school making progress months after being branded inadequate

Deansfield Community School in Deans Road was rated fifth best school in the city last year in terms of exam results, with 72 per cent of pupils gaining the benchmark of five or more A* to C grades including English and maths.

But following a visit from Ofsted inspectors in June the school was given the bottom rating of inadequate, with the quality of teaching and school leadership coming in for criticism.

The school slumped to 12th place in the city's secondary school league tables, with exam success rates plummeting by more than a quarter.

Now the school has been told it is back on the right track after a monitoring visit from inspectors in March.

In her report, Her Majesty's Inspector Gwendoline Coates wrote that more students are now making the level of progress expected of them.

"Standards in reading, writing and mathematics are beginning to improve as a result of a stronger focus on literacy and numeracy across the curriculum," she said.

The quality of teaching was also said to be improving, particularly in maths, while lesson planning from teachers had also increased in quality.

The marking of students work was said to have 'significantly improved', which had in turn led to an improvement in the quality of students' written work.

The inspector also noted that a range of new strategies had been put in place to improve attendance and behaviour.

These includes the development of a rewards system and individual targets for attendance and behaviour, she continued.

Senior leaders at the school were also praised for 'raising expectations and driving improvement'.

"They want students to achieve well and are absolutely committed to improving the school. They are strongly supported by the staff," the report said.

Headteacher Dean Coombes was praised for developing links with other schools 'in order to learn from their good practice'.

Monitoring and analysis were also said to have improved. According to the inspector the curriculum had benefited from the introduction of formal religious education lessons and the use of subject specialist humanities teachers.

She wrote: "A strong governing body is now challenging and advising leaders effectively.

"The use of pupil premium and Year 7 catch-up funding has been reviewed so that it more effectively supports eligible students."

The inspector noted a small number of areas that still require work.

Not all teachers were said to be managing behaviour effectively, while the attainment gap between students eligible for pupil premium and other students was still said to be 'too wide'.