OFSTED Report
Since opening, we have received one HMI monitoring inspection in 2009 and one full OFSTED inspection in July 2010. We were rated as ‘Good’ with a good capacity for sustained improvement. Below is an extract from the main findings that contributed to our rating as ‘Good’.
Extract from the Main Findings
Leadership
Thomas Deacon Academy provides a good education for its students both in terms of their academic success and the personal qualities the academy fosters. Leaders have successfully managed the amalgamation of the predecessor schools into a happy and increasingly successful learning community.
Teaching and Learning and the Specialisms
Teaching is good and, together with a good curriculum that provides an extensive range of courses to meet individual needs, is ensuring students make good progress in their learning.
The specialist subjects make a significant contribution to the provision by supporting cross-curricular approaches. External speakers from the world of science and mathematics visit to inspire students.
Care and Guidance
Good care and guidance support students so they feel very safe and develop personal qualities to help them in their working lives. As a result, the numbers that are not in education or employment with training when they leave the academy is significantly lower than the average for the local area.
Innovation and Creativity
An ethos of innovation and exploring creative solutions to problems has secured improvements across a range of measures. Staff are highly motivated and good use is made of information and communication technology to facilitate the sharing of ideas and strengthen communication. There is strong evidence that the pattern of improvements is continuing and demonstrates that the academy has good capacity to improve further.
The latest, full OFSTED report can be downloaded below.