Inspectors say 'progress made but more work needed' after visit to 'inadequate' Dunstable academy

A Dunstable academy has been told that while progress to improve from its ‘inadequate’ grade has been made, more work is still needed.

A report into Ofsted’s monitoring visit to All Saints Academy Dunstable, on Houghton Road has now been published.

Inspectors returned to the academy in November. Back in July, the academy was granted a judicial review into a report by Ofsted after it received the ‘inadequate’ rating. It had tried to stop the report from being published as it pursued legal action against the education regulator – but an interim injunction bid was dismissed.

The purpose of the monitoring visit was to highlight any improvements that leaders have made since the school’s previous graded inspection.

In his report, Steve Woodley, His Majesty’s Inspector, said: “Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but more work is necessary for the school to be no longer judged as having serious weaknesses.”

All Saints Academy Dunstable did not respond to Luton News’ request for comment.

The school was praised for giving its pastoral and senior leaders extra training to help them manage concerns and all staff had “up-to-date training”.

The report stated: “Pupils overwhelmingly report that they now feel safe in school. Improving behaviour has reduced pupils’ concerns about their safety around the school. Pupils increasingly trust adults will help them should they need it.

“The school has prioritised improving how well pupils’ knowledge is checked in lessons and how these checks are used to adjust the delivery of the curriculum.”

While behaviour inside classrooms and around the school has improved, Mr Woodley said: “Pupils do, however, report some inconsistencies in how staff apply behaviour policies, and this can sometimes result in behaviour that is less positive.”

The issue of attendance cropped up again, as it had in the July 2023 report. This latest report explained: “Although attendance is slowly improving, some groups, including disadvantaged pupils, do not attend well enough. Persistent absence remains too high. Leaders are aware of these issues. They are working hard to improve pupils’ understanding of the value of attending school every day.”