Bournville All-Through School is celebrating the most positive Ofsted Inspection in its history – after meeting the expected standard across Years 1 through to 11.
Inspectors described how pupils are ‘proud of their school’ and have ‘a clear sense of belonging’ and praised the leadership, teaching and culture of inclusion – commenting that ‘pupils with barriers to learning and wellbeing are included and valued.’
Achievement, Attendance and Behaviour, Curriculum and Teaching, Inclusion, Leadership and Governance, and Personal Development and Wellbeing were all rated ‘Expected Standard’ – with safeguarding standards also fully met and no areas of significant concern.
Bournville’s onsite alternative provision, where students who are not attending mainstream education can study vocational courses such as hair and beauty, also demonstrated ‘leader’s ethical decision making to support pupils with additional barriers or vulnerabilities,’ according to inspectors.
Head of Academy, Ms Dhinsa, said: “To have the caring, inclusive and ambitious school we have built officially recognised is a real cause for celebration for our pupils, staff and families – because this report really does belong to us all.” 
“There is so much in the inspection report to be proud of, but it means a lot to staff that the inspectors saw just how much our parents and carers appreciate the school’s positive impact on their children’s lives. We have always been a community school and those relationships and their support matter enormously to us. We will continue to improve and remain ambitious for the future.”
Inspectors described leadership as ‘robust’ and said, ‘teachers across all key stages demonstrated secure subject knowledge’ with a ‘well-sequenced curriculum’ enabling students ‘to deepen their knowledge.’
Executive Principal Simon Mallett said: “The inspection team saw what we see every day; pupils who are proud of their school, staff who care deeply about the children they serve and a community that is increasingly confident in the direction of travel.
“We are proud that our pupils now attend more, behave better and learn more, and we are determined to continue building on this momentum.”
The outcome follows a long journey of improvement. Bournville School and Sixth Form Centre, as it was known, was put into special measures in 2013 before switching to an academy model and joining the respected Fairfax Multi-Academy Trust which provided the support, expertise and investment to help transform the school into the thriving all-through academy recognised by inspectors today.
Chief Executive Officer of Fairfax Multi-Academy Trust, Simon Jones said: “These vast improvements haven’t happened overnight. Huge strides have been made in recent years and pupils are benefiting from stronger leadership, better teaching, improved behaviour and a culture where they feel they belong. That’s now been recognised in the school’s best-ever Ofsted report, but inspection outcomes are always about far more than a set of ratings. It demonstrates what can be achieved when a community, a school and a trust work together with a shared sense of purpose.”