Dene Magna School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school. The school leaders' unwavering commitment to improvement at all levels ensures that students' achievement is high.

No matter what their starting point and irrespective of special needs or any disability, students make rapid progress. There have been rapid improvements in the progress that students make in English since the dip in results in 2012. Teaching is outstanding and assessment is used extremely well to ensure lesson tasks meet the learning needs of all students.

The governing body provides excellent governance of the school and, through rigorous review of all activities, ensures that there is a very good balance of challe...nge and support. Students' behaviour is exemplary and students flourish within a very supportive, caring and safe environment. The outstanding curriculum meets the different needs of students very well, although the literacy programme is better developed in Key Stage 3 than in Key Stage 4.

Procedures for checking the quality of the school's work are very rigorous throughout the school and provide an accurate picture of strengths and areas for further development. The monitoring of teaching and learning is extremely well organised and this checking ensures that teachers have very clear ideas about how to improve further. Provision for students' development of spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills is outstanding and ensures that students develop very well into well informed and highly reflective young people by the time they leave school.

Information about this school

Dene Magna is smaller than the average secondary school and serves a mainly White British rural community in the Forest of Dean. It converted to an academy on 1 September 2011. When last inspected in September 2008, Dene Magna School was judged to be outstanding.

The current headteacher was appointed in 2010 and a new deputy headteacher will take up his appointment in January 2013. Almost all students are from White British heritage and very few speak English as an additional language. The proportions of students supported through school action and of those supported at school action plus are similar to the national averages although the proportion with statements is higher.

The proportion of students known to be eligible for the pupil premium is much lower than that found nationally. A number of students follow applied vocational courses at nearby colleges, the main one being Hartpury College. The school meets the government's current floor standards that set the minimum expectations for students' attainment and progress.