Darley Dene Primary School is celebrating a significant milestone as it received a 'Good' rating in its recent Ofsted inspection which took place on 2nd and 3rd July. This achievement marks a notable improvement from its previous inspection as a local authority maintained school and its first since conversion to an academy school in 2020.

Commitment to excellence and belonging
The Ofsted report highlighted the school’s high aspirations for pupils’ learning and achievement, demonstrated by the focus on making key improvements to the school’s curriculum and identifying the important knowledge pupils should remember across subject areas. Inspectors also praised the whole staff team, led by Headteacher Sarah Kober, for their relentless dedication in promoting positive behaviour and the school values of ‘we all belong’ through all of their interactions with pupils. 

"Pupils flourish at this kind and happy school,” the report stated. " The proportion of pupils who met the expected standards at the end of key stages 1 and 2 has increased, reflecting that pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are now achieving well.”

Key Strengths
The inspection report identified several key strengths that contributed to the 'Good' rating:

• A sense of belonging and safety: Pupils feel accepted and part of their school community with relationships between staff and pupils warm and respectful. Pupils know that if they have a worry, they can speak to trusted adults who will support them. This helps pupils to feel safe. The school’s safeguarding arrangements were identified as effective.
• Behaviour and learning environment: Pupils’ behaviour in lessons is good with adults providing a stimulating and effective learning environment, supporting children to learn and behave well. 
• Strong Early Years provision: Children in Reception and Nursery get off to a strong start. Children begin learning phonics as soon as they settle into Reception and Nursery with staff being experts in delivering the school’s phonics programme. 
• Academic progress for all children: There are clear expectations of what children need to learn. Consequently, children are well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Pupils with SEND receive effective support to learn well across the curriculum. 
• Priority to children’s personal development: The school embraces the local community’s diversity, in turn enabling pupils to be curious about the world around them through a range of different experiences on offer including themed events, visiting speakers and trips.
• Staff development and support: Staff demonstrated they felt supported by the school and received the training they needed to ensure that pupils consistently learn and achieve well.

Areas for Further Improvement
While the report was overwhelmingly positive, it also outlined areas where the school could continue to improve. These include:

• Enhancing effective systems to measure progress: Although the core curriculum is strong, the inspectors suggested further enrichment of the broader curriculum to ensure pupil recall in all subjects is strong.
• Improving attendance: A minority of pupils have missed out on important learning due to low attendance. The school is aware and continues to work with those families that need support in getting their child to school every day. 

Community Reaction
The school community has reacted with pride and optimism to the Ofsted rating. Parents expressed their satisfaction with the progress made and confidence in the school’s direction.

Headteacher Sarah Kober shared her joy, stating, "This 'Good' rating is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff, pupils, and their families. We are committed to continuing our journey ensuring that Darley Dene is a school of choice for our local community".

The positive outcome of the Ofsted inspection serves as a significant boost for Darley Dene Primary School, setting a strong foundation for future successes and ongoing development as part of the multi-academy trust Lumen Learning Trust.