De Lacy Academy in Knottingley is an 'Outstanding' school

A secondary school which was rated as ‘requiring improvement” by OFSTED in 2017 is now ‘Outstanding’ following the watchdog’s latest visit.
Proud De Lacy Academy pupils Roshni Shefta, Brendan Norton,  Kai Brown and  Ashton Westwood.Proud De Lacy Academy pupils Roshni Shefta, Brendan Norton,  Kai Brown and  Ashton Westwood.
Proud De Lacy Academy pupils Roshni Shefta, Brendan Norton, Kai Brown and Ashton Westwood.

De Lacy Academy, which has 773 pupils is the first Knottingley secondary school to have been granted this status.

Chris McCall, associate executive principal said: “This is a magnificent achievement.

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“I am thrilled that inspectors recognised the absolute determination of the trust, leaders, staff, students and parents to change lives and ensure students are safe, happy and able to thrive in all elements of their life when they end their time with us.”

The inspectors highlighted the fact that the ‘pupils at De Lacy Academy are very happy and safe’ and that ‘they enjoy highly positive relationships with each other and with staff.

They noted that ‘the warmth and positivity are evident throughout the school, in lessons and at social times’ and that ‘both staff and pupils enjoy their time in the school.’

Mr McCall added: “My staff work incredibly hard, with dedication and commitment, to ensure the young people of Knottingley have every chance in life and it is a fitting tribute to them that OFSTED recognised their phenomenal and outstanding efforts.

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“Some schools, in my opinion wrongly, attribute their OFSTED ratings to staff efforts alone. This fails to recognise the extremely supportive and motivated parents who work with us every day.

“Our students are terrific ambassadors for our school and it was a pleasure to watch them speak with pride and confidence about their learning and their academy.”

In September 2019, OFSTED introduced a new, more challenging, inspection framework which moved away from a data heavy judgement and is now based more on the quality of education.

Mr McCall said: “Since that date, only 91, or 2.6 per cent of schools have been recognised as ‘Outstanding’ across the board.

“Even more impressively, De Lacy is in the lowest 20 per cent of schools for deprivation nationally.

“Of those 643 schools, only 14 (2.1 per cent) are outstanding under the new framework.”

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