School and trust leaders have 'rapidly improved' Thomas Middlecott Academy

Staff and pupils at Thomas Middlecott Academy in Kirton, part of the David Ross Education Trust (DRET), are pleased that the rapid improvements new leaders have brought about have been acknowledged in the school’s latest Ofsted report, following an inspection in March.

While the secondary school’s overall Ofsted rating is “Requires improvement”, Thomas Middlecott Academy is rated “Good” in three categories: behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management.

Inspectors noted that pupils appreciated the “rapid and effective” changes made and also highlighted that pupils feel like they belong a school community.

Other highlights from the report include:

• Leaders are aspirational for their pupils and have set high academic and behaviour expectations.
• Pupils say that the new behaviour system has improved their conduct and they like how easy it is to understand.
• Together with the trust, leaders have created an ambitious and challenging curriculum for all pupils.
• Leaders regularly check how pupils are doing with their reading and pupils quickly gain the skills they need to become confident and fluent readers.
• Leaders provide a wide range of extra-curricular activities for pupils, including sports clubs, trips to the opera and local competitions.

Kimberley Willmot, Executive Principal at Thomas Middlecott Academy, said:

“Thank you to all our staff for their consistent hard work and dedication. We are all pleased to see that Ofsted agrees that many areas of our school have improved.

“I am looking forward to continuing to drive improvements with the support of staff, pupils and their families.”

Mark Neild, Director of Secondary Education at DRET, said:

“I would like to thank the Executive Principal, Kimberley Willmot, for her transformational leadership during the past nine months. Thomas Middlecott is a superbly warm school with high standards for behaviour and personal development of students. Ms Willmot has, with this inspection, delivered the best set of grades the school has ever had and will use this milestone to propel the school forwards.”