Latest Ofsted report a ‘significant and well-deserved milestone’ for ‘rapidly improving’ Dewsbury high school

St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy has been recognised by the education watchdog as ‘good’ in three key areas after being inspected over two days in March.

The school, situated on Oxford Road, received its good verdicts for areas in behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and sixth form provision.

The positive report states: “Pupils feel safe and happy at this welcoming, and rapidly improving, school. Staff, pupils, parents and carers agree that the school has improved a great deal in recent years.”

“The school has heightened its expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Most pupils respond to this well. They move around the school calmly. They are polite and respectful to adults and visitors at the school. Most pupils have positive attitudes to learning.

“The school provides a wide range of extra-curricular clubs. For example, pupils have opportunities to broaden their interests and participate in table tennis, gardening, politics and Latin clubs.

“Pupils also have the opportunity to lead different aspects of the school. For example, pupils participate in diversity committees, which help to ensure that different religions and festivals are celebrated.”

The report adds: “The school provides a well-structured programme of personal development. Pupils can discuss how to keep themselves healthy and how to keep themselves safe online.

“Pupils learn about fundamental British values and the importance of not discriminating against those with protected characteristics. Pupils receive effective careers guidance and support that prepares them for future opportunities.

“New leaders have made significant improvements to the school’s provision. However, there is more to do to ensure that all pupils benefit from leaders’ work to improve the school. There is a need to keep supporting and developing leaders’ expertise to continue the trend of improvement.

“Staff are positive about working at the school. They are committed to their mission of improving the life chances of pupils.”

And although areas in the quality of education and leadership and management ‘requires improvement’, the latest report marks a “significant milestone” for the school, which was previously graded as ‘inadequate’, having now been visited 13 times by Ofsted since 2017.

Karl Mackey, headteacher at St John Fisher, said:

“A two-day inspection is just a snapshot of everything that goes on in a large secondary school. Recently, we’ve been working hard to transform the curriculum and the quality of teaching and learning.

“Pupil experiences are improving every day, and we are incredibly proud of these achievements. But please be assured, this is only the beginning. We still have much work to do to ensure St John Fisher becomes the best local school for miles.

“None of these improvements would be possible without the commitment of governors, staff, and students, or without the continued support of our parents and carers.”

Lesley Fitton, CEO of the Bishop Konstant Catholic Academy Trust, which the school is connected to, added:

“This is a significant and well-deserved milestone. St John Fisher has shown the resilience, teamwork, and shared vision required to drive such meaningful change, and we’re proud to have them in our family of schools.”

The school’s sixth form is also thriving, with a sharp rise in results across both vocational and traditional A-Level subjects, and more students achieving top A*-B grades.