Dowdales School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Dowdales School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value being part of this warm and welcoming school community. Staff know the pupils well and support them effectively. This helps pupils to settle into school quickly.

Pupils get along well with each other. They are safe and happy in school.

Pupils' behaviour in lessons and around school is positive.

They understand what is expected of them and follow school routines diligently. This creates a calm school environment. Most pupils enjoy learning.

The school has high expectations of pupils' achievement. Pu...pils benefit from an ambitious curriculum that is clearly structured. This helps most pupils to progress successfully through the curriculum and achieve well.

Many pupils benefit from a broad range of extra-curricular activities. For instance, pupils enjoy taking part in different sporting events, charity work and drama club. Pupils commit to taking part in all aspects of school life.

For example, they broaden their understanding of the wider world through international visits. Some pupils take pleasure in visiting the school's partner school in Munich, where they can develop their linguistic skills. Other pupils relish visits to museums, universities and theatres, many of which are supported by national organisations that work in partnership with the school.

This helps pupils to broaden their knowledge beyond the taught curriculum.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has redesigned its curriculum to enable pupils to study a rich breadth of subjects. The essential knowledge that pupils should gain is set out logically so that they can build on their prior learning securely.

In 2024, Year 11 pupils did not attain as well as other pupils nationally in some subjects. This was due to previous weaknesses in how the curriculums in these subjects were taught. The school has strengthened its delivery of the curriculum so that pupils are supported to succeed.

Staff present subject matter clearly and check that pupils have understood the content. As a result, pupils are learning better now than they did in the past. Nonetheless, at times, some staff do not choose activities that help pupils to deepen and connect prior knowledge to new learning.

This hampers how well some pupils build on their learning over time.

Recently, the school has strengthened its approach to identifying the additional needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This helps most staff to support these pupils to access the curriculum securely.

However, occasionally, learning activities are not adapted consistently well. This limits how well some pupils with SEND achieve.

Reading has increasingly been prioritised across school.

Pupils who struggle to read are supported well. This helps them to develop confidence and fluency when reading. The school promotes reading through form time activities such as 'read all about it' and 'reading buddies'.

These activities expose pupils to a wide range of suitable texts.

The school has successfully embedded a strong behaviour management system. Staff apply these systems consistently well.

This means that learning is rarely disrupted by poor behaviour. Pupils maintain a positive attitude to learning. The school's efforts to improve attendance are beginning to have a positive impact.

Nevertheless, some strategies are not as effective as they could be in removing the barriers that prevent some pupils from attending school regularly. As a result, these pupils continue to miss school frequently. This hinders their achievement.

The school has a well-designed programme to promote pupils' personal development. Pupils learn about keeping safe in the community and how to avoid risks online. They develop a mature understanding of the importance of respecting differences between people.

They relish projects where they can help others. For instance, they appreciate the opportunities to fundraise for different charities. Some pupils enjoy upholding leadership roles such as subject ambassadors.

This boosts their confidence and improves their communication skills.

The school's comprehensive careers programme prepares pupils well for their next stage in life. For instance, pupils are taught about different career pathways and how to prepare for interviews.

The governors are ambitious for the school and support it well to meet these expectations. The school considers staff's well-being and workload when driving improvements. Staff value the support that they receive to improve their practice.

This contributes to the high levels of confidence and morale among staff.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Occasionally, teachers do not design learning activities that help pupils to build on their prior learning in sufficient depth.

When this happens, some pupils struggle to connect new learning with what they already know. They do not achieve as well as they could. The school should ensure that teachers are supported to deliver the curriculum consistently well so that pupils build a strong body of knowledge over time.

• From time to time, staff do not apply adaptive strategies effectively to support pupils with SEND. This hinders how well these pupils access the curriculum. The school should equip staff better to adapt their learning activities so that pupils with SEND achieve well.

• The school's strategies to improve attendance have not had the desired impact for some pupils. As a result, some pupils miss vital learning and do not achieve as well as they could. The school should strengthen its actions to overcome the barriers that prevent some pupils from attending school regularly.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in July 2019.