WITH the summer holidays commencing, many parents will now be looking forward to September when their child makes the big step up to secondary school.

And you may be wondering what the latest Ofsted rating is your child's new school.

We have put together a list of all non-fee paying secondary schools across the Bradford district according to their Ofsted rating.

Eight were rated 'outstanding', 13 were 'good', five were 'requires improvement', and seven come under the 'inadequate' rating.

Outstanding

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Headteacher Mohammed Azum and students at Carlton Bolling celebrating their Outstanding Ofsted inspectionHeadteacher Mohammed Azum and students at Carlton Bolling celebrating their Outstanding Ofsted inspection (Image: UGC)

Good

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Headteacher Biman Dey with pupils at Beckfoot Upper Heaton School which was recently rated 'Good'Headteacher Biman Dey with pupils at Beckfoot Upper Heaton School which was recently rated 'Good' (Image: UGC)

Requires improvement

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Tong Leadership Academy was rated 'Requires Improvement' at its last Ofsted inspectionTong Leadership Academy was rated 'Requires Improvement' at its last Ofsted inspection (Image: Newsquest)

  • Beckfoot Thornton - last report October 2019

    At the time, the school said "enormous improvements" had been made since joining the Beckfoot Trust and it was "determined to continue to transform Beckfoot Thornton into a school that our community is proud of". 
     
  • Bradford Academy - last report March 2023

At the time, the school said: “Whilst we do not shy away from the feedback regarding improvements to be made, we also believe that Bradford Academy is a true community school that works to nurture our learners, and this will continue to be the case moving forward.”

At the time, the school said: “We welcome Ofsted’s report and are pleased inspectors agreed the school has improved and is well-positioned to build on its positive momentum." (The school had been 'inadequate' prior to that inspection).

The school said there were a number of positives in the report, but added: “Naturally, we are disappointed with the overall judgement, but recognise the work we need to do. 

"The areas identified in the Ofsted report as needing further development were identified in the School Improvement Plan and actions are being taken to ensure these improvements are embedded as quickly as possible."

At the time, the school said: "We remain committed to driving up standards further and continuing to improve outcomes for our pupils, and we have every confidence that the school will continue to improve at pace.”

Inadequate

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Co-op Academy Grange was rated 'Inadequate' by Ofsted earlier this yearCo-op Academy Grange was rated 'Inadequate' by Ofsted earlier this year (Image: Newsquest)

In June, a spokesperson from the school said: "We were pleased with the positive feedback at the Ofsted ungraded monitoring visit, and that the inspector recognised that the school's pace of improvement is sufficient for it to be removed from a category at a later date."

Last month, the school said: “While receiving this Ofsted rating is not what we had hoped for, we were pleased to see many elements of the academy praised, including our curriculum, reading provision and enrichment activities."

In a statement, the school spoke of its disappointment with the overall rating but said
"the improvement strategies we have implemented were recognised as starting to have an impact". 

A spokesman, speaking on behalf of Co-op Academies Trust, said: “Prior to the Ofsted inspection in November 2022, we were in the process of making considerable changes at Co-op Academy Grange - these changes are now in place and we are seeing results in the areas Ofsted felt were key."

  • Hanson School - last report September 2021, yet to be inspected by Ofsted since becoming Hanson Academy in June 2022

    The T&A contacted the school at the time of the 2021 report, but did not receive a response. 

    In the last monitoring visit before Hanson became an academy, Ofsted said: "Leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action toward the removal of the serious weaknesses designation."
     
  • The Holy Family Catholic School - last report May 2022, yet to be inspected by Ofsted since becoming The Holy Family Catholic School, Voluntary Academy in July 2022

    At the time, the school said it was disappointed but was "confident that we can and are making the required changes".

    The school added: "We have a detailed School Improvement Plan and would like to reassure families that the whole staff team are working tirelessly on implementing that at pace. The plan is focused on improving standards in all aspects of school life."

    The monitoring report in May 2022 said: "Leaders and those responsible for governance are taking effective action towards the removal of the serious weaknesses designation."
     
  • Queensbury Academy - last report December 2020, yet to be inspected by Ofsted since becoming Trinity Academy Bradford in January 2021.

At the time, the school said staff were "fully committed" to improving the school and helping students fulfil their potential.

The monitoring report released in January 2020, said: "Leaders and managers are taking effective action towards the removal of the serious weaknesses designation."

* Bronte Girls' Academy and Eden Boys' Leadership Academy have yet to be inspected by Ofsted since opening

Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills.

The watchdog inspects services providing education and skills for learners of all ages.