“Outstanding in every aspect”

In December 2022, Ofsted inspected Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy and rated the school “Outstanding”.

This inspection was carried out by two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and three additional inspectors.

As part of this graded inspection, inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: art and design, English, history, mathematics, modern foreign languages and science. For each deep dive, inspectors met with curriculum leaders, visited some lessons, spoke with pupils, students and teachers. They looked at samples of pupils’ and students’ work. Inspectors also reviewed aspects of the curriculums in other subjects. They also met with the subject leaders in these subjects.

• Inspectors met with the principal, vice principals and other senior leaders.
• The lead inspector met with representatives of the board of trustees and the local governing board. The lead inspector also spoke with a representative of the local authority and the diocese.
•  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the freetext responses. Inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys.
• Inspectors checked on leaders’ safeguarding procedures, including the recruitment checks made on staff and governors. Inspectors met with leaders, those responsible for governance, staff, pupils and students to discuss the wider aspects of safeguarding. Inspectors also scrutinised a range of documentation pertaining to safeguarding.
•  Inspectors observed pupils’ and students’ behaviour around school, at breaktimes and at lunchtimes. They spoke with them about behaviour and bullying.

Ripley St Thomas  CE Academy Ofsted Report December 2022

In 2017, the SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools) report from the Church of England  graded the Academy ‘Outstanding’ in every category and ‘Outstanding’ overall.

In his report, the Inspector, Rev’d Canon Stephen Harvey, wrote:
“The distinctiveness and effectiveness of Ripley St Thomas Church of England Academy as a Church of England school are outstanding.

• A distinctively Christian vision and set of values are deeply embedded in the life of the school and have a profound impact on the lives, wellbeing and flourishing of learners and adults.
• The school’s leaders are deeply committed to the school as a church school. They articulate, from personal conviction and with confidence, a compelling Christian vision.
• Collective worship has a central place in the life of the school. It is of high quality and has a very significant impact on the lives and aspirations of the whole community.
• A very strong RE department is highly effective in promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.”

In 2017, Ofsted inspected Ripley TSA school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) and rated the SCITT Outstanding in every category

This inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and an Ofsted inspector in accordance with the ‘Initial teacher education inspection handbook’. Inspectors focused on the overall effectiveness of the ITE partnership in securing high-quality outcomes for trainees.
Stage 1 of the inspection took place in May and focussed on current trainees, then Stage 2 took place in September, focussing on those same trainees in their first teaching posts. Over the course of the two-stage inspection, inspectors met with trainees and NQTs; school staff with responsibility for teacher training and NQT induction; headteachers; the SCITT director and administrator; the link tutor; the external moderator; and subject mentors. Inspectors also spoke with pupils and looked at their work.

Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including self-evaluation and improvement planning documents; trainees’ files; information on trainees’ attainment, employment and completion rates. Inspectors took into account 13 responses to Ofsted’s online trainee questionnaire which trainees completed in 2017. In addition, inspectors carried out checks to determine whether the partnership meets all statutory criteria and requirements for initial teacher education (ITE)

The final grades are as follows:

Overall effectiveness

How well does the partnership secure consistently high-quality outcomes for trainees?
Grade 1 – Outstanding

The outcomes for trainees
Grade 1 – Outstanding

The quality of training across the partnership
Grade 1 – Outstanding

The quality of leadership and management across the partnership
Grade 1 – Outstanding