Staff and pupils at a Derby school are celebrating after a Government inspector removed it from special measures after finding ‘significant improvements’.
Royal School for the Deaf Derby has been praised by Ofsted inspectors who described the school as a ‘positive place for learning where staff are successfully improving pupils’ outcomes’.
The Ashbourne Road school, for children aged between three and 19, was placed in special measures in April 2015, after it failed to implement safeguarding procedures, highlighted in an earlier residential inspection.
The Ofsted team found that concerns during the earlier residential inspection were still present and putting pupils at risk and that emergency safeguards put in place recently were “unsound”.
But the latest visit, which took place at the end of September, and the subsequent newly-published report described the school’s revised safeguarding measures as “effective”, “rigorous” and “understood by all members of staff”. The report notes that pupils feel safe and staff, who undergo regular training, ensure the welfare and safety of pupils is their priority.
Inspectors also reported that teachers are enthusiastic and that there are good relationships in the classroom between adults and pupils.
They described the personal development, behaviour and welfare of pupils as good and acknowledged that staff have provided a caring environment for students.