School is graded 'good' following an inspection

THE DEAN Academy in Lydney has been rated ’good’ in all areas by inspectors.

Headteacher Richard Brand said it "has been on an amazing journey of improvement."The ’good’ grading is the second highest of four - the school received a verdict of "requires improvement" in 2017 and was put into special measures in 2015.After visiting the school last month, the inspectors said pupils "thrive" and praised the good behaviour.The school was graded as "good" for quality of eduction, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and overall effectiveness.In the report released last week, the inspectors said: "This is a school where pupils thrive. "From the moment they join, they receive a warm welcome and quickly feel at home. Pupils and staff support one another. The day-to-day routines of the school run smoothly. Pupils receive a good-quality education.Mr Brand said: "The jump from RI (requires improvement) to good is a big jump and for us to get that across the board,overall effectiveness being good is clear recognition of the progress over four years, particularly in the last 18 months. 

We knew how far the school had come, we knew we were in the best position we have been in recent years. We knew as teachers, leaders, staff that the school was feelng better that behaviour concerns were lower, parental feedback is better. 

All the indicators were turning green and we were hopeful it would come in this inspection but we also knew that if it didn’t come in this one it wold come in the next one. It is good news for families in Lydney and around us. It is another good school for families to choose from and our hope is this inspection gives families the confidence to know that what we’re doing here is really special and not to judge .us on reputation. 

 Mr Brand was also pleased that the inspectors found that pupils "relish" reading.He added: "They were really happy to see we have a morning reading programme and they talk about our students being eager readers, reading ambitious texts for 25 minutes every morning."The journey of improvement has been so rapid and that has been achieved with two periods of closure in a pandemic so its even more remarkable because of that.