Ofsted Inspections

Introduction

Ofsted reports for Belper School and Sixth Form Centre are available to view on the Ofsted website by clicking here.

The DFE Performance table for the school is here.

Parent View results for the school are here.

* Parent View is the parent survey which was carried out during the inspection.

Most Recent Inspection

In October 2019, Ofsted carried out a Section 5 two day inspection of the school. This was carried out under a new Ofsted Framework which was introduced nationally in September 2019. Belper was the first secondary school in the county inspected under the new framework.

The school was assessed as having a grade of 2 (Good) for Personal Development with 3 (Requires improvement) for the other areas.

The inspection identified the following positive aspects about the school:

• Pupils receive high-quality pastoral care and they know that teachers want them to do well.
• The school aims to help pupils become confident and independent
• Pupils are keen to do well and are kind and considerate
• The school provides many opportunities for pupils to develop their interests and talents.
• Positive relationships help pupils to work hard
• Most pupils are happy at school (confirmed by 98% of parents in the Ofsted survey), they behave well and bullying is rare
• Pupils take part in lots of activities to help their personal development
• The school has a positive atmosphere
• Pupils are safe in school and safeguarding is effective
• Students enjoy being in the sixth form
• Students in the sixth form can study lots of different subjects and staff guide students to choose appropriate courses.
• 94% of parents would recommend the school to another parent

The inspection team also identified the following development areas for the school which require improvement:

• Ensure all curriculum leaders have a clear vision for curriculum intent
• Provide more support for disadvantaged pupils to improve their attendance and / or acheivement
• Review the sanctions given to pupils with repeated misbehaviour
• Ensure all sixth form students take part in work experience
• Improve the strategic oversight of SEND provision
• Improve leadership systems and governance to systematically monitor all areas of provision

Ofsted Update September 2020

We have made many improvements since the inspection (despite the Spring 2020 lockdown and Covid restrictions). These include:

• A new SENDCo appointed in July 20
• An expanded SEND team
• Much improved SEND procedures
• A new assistant headteacher to lead our behaviour systems
• Significant changes made to our pastoral systems leading to improvements in behaviour in 19-20 and a halving of sanctions issued compared to 18-19
• New departmental schemes of learning where needed
• Much improved results for disadvantaged students in 19-20
• A steering group for Governors to plan the Governors meetings over the year according to the school priorities

The developments listed below were started in the Spring but have not yet been fully implemented due to Covid:

• A new work experience programme for sixth form
• Improved attendance systems
• Much improved leadership systems for middle and senior leaders

We expect to have addressed the Ofsted areas for improvement by the end of the 20-21 academic year but this may be dependent on any Covid lockdowns.