Giles Academy celebrates glowing Ofsted report after inspection
Giles Academy celebrates glowing Ofsted report after inspection
(left to right) Miss Katie Belcher, Head of School at Giles Academy and Mrs Lucy Conley, Executive Headteacher/CEO at South Lincolnshire Academies Trust
Giles Academy has been on a rapid transformational journey with incredible change since September 2020 when it became part of South Lincolnshire Academies Trust.
In less than three years the fortunes of the school have been turned around and today it has been officially recognised by Ofsted as a ‘Good school’.
This is after Giles Academy was graded inadequate in November 2019 by Ofsted and the Department for Education (DfE) asked for South Lincolnshire Academies Trust to support the school prior to officially joining the Trust in September 2020.
The glowing Ofsted report (click button below) paid particular praise for the leadership and management, which was graded ‘Outstanding’ as said leaders have taken swift action about significant improvement at the school and worked with commitment and determination.
Mrs Lucy Conley, Executive Headteacher/CEO at South Lincolnshire Academies Trust said “Giles Academy is an amazing school with dedicated staff who are extremely proud to work at the school with students who are determined to succeed. I am delighted that the Ofsted inspection recognised this. From day one of joining the Trust, we have been overwhelmed by the cooperation and support from everyone associated with the school who value the high expectations we expect of our students. This clear vision can be seen through our values of ‘Aspire, Challenge and Achieve’ that runs through everything we do at every school in our Trust.”
As well as the management being praised, the report identified that students value the range of leadership responsibilities available to them from being on the school council or being reading ambassadors, transition buddies and prefects to give then confidence and a sense of responsibility.
Ofsted conducted the two-day inspection of Giles Academy on 10th and 11th May 2023, where inspectors focused on the quality of education, which included the curriculum, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and other key areas within the inspection framework.
In a time when there is particular focus on the safeguarding in schools, the report said Giles Academy has a strong culture of safeguarding and welfare. Students benefit from strong pastoral care and told inspectors that they ‘feel safe’, are ‘happy at school’ and ‘all are welcome here’. Students also learn how to keep themselves safe including when they are online.
Miss Katie Belcher, Head of School at Giles Academy said “I would like to thank our parents and carers who were incredibly positive about the education their children receive. We have been looking forward to having this Ofsted inspection for Giles Academy to once again be recognised as a Good school. We are a school who aspires to be Outstanding in everything we do and we are on the next step to achieving this.”
The Ofsted inspection did indicate that ‘too many pupils are persistently absent’, which is reflective of how the school has experienced an increase in mid-year applications from transient families as the school had available spaces. This is an area where Giles Academy has been proactive working with the local policing team on ‘Operation Absence’ to reduce persistent absence in Boston’s local schools.
In September 2023, the new intake at Giles Academy will have a full PAN (pupil admission numbers) with 180 new Year 7 students joining the school. Such is the increase in applications, the school now has appeals from families wanting to send their child to Giles Academy.
- The next Open Evening for Giles Academy will take place on Thursday 5th October 2023 from 5.30pm to 8.00pm. Further information about Open Evening is available from www.gilesacademy.co.uk/open-evenings