'Inadequate' Devon school makes 'rapid' improvements but more work is needed

A Devon school previously rated as 'inadequate' by Ofsted has been praised for making 'rapid improvements' during a revisit by inspectors. However, bullying was said to still be of concern along with attendance and the quality of education. Serious concerns at Teignmouth Community College were highlighted in March 2023 when Ofsted put it in special measures due to failings in a number of key areas including pupil behaviour, low expectations of pupils and a 'poorly planned' curriculum.

At the time of that inspection, it had been part of the Ivy Education Trust for nine months. Since then, monitoring visits have been carried out by Ofsted. In March of this year, the school was praised for the 'significant' amount of work that had taken place but it noted more needed to be done.

The school is now said to no longer require 'significant improvement' following a graded inspection on October 8 and 9. The ratings it received were 'requires improvement' for the quality of education and behaviour and attitudes, and 'good' for personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision.

The report, published by Ofsted on November 15, stated: "Teignmouth Community School has the ambition for pupils and staff to be ‘the best version of themselves’. This shared vision has driven the recent rapid improvements made to many areas of the school.

"The school recognises that there is more work to do to further raise the achievement of pupils by the end of Key Stage 4 and replicate the improvements seen in sixth-form outcomes. The school has clear expectations for the behaviour of pupils.

"Pupils appreciate that they can largely learn without disruption. There are some pupils who have found it challenging to adapt their behaviour to meet these higher expectations.

"The school is providing support for these pupils to reduce the number of suspensions. Bullying remains a concern for some pupils at this school. They are starting to understand what behaviour is unacceptable and are increasingly prepared to share concerns with adults.

"However, for some pupils, incidents are not resolved swiftly enough to reassure them that they will not reoccur."

Other areas highlighted for requiring improvement included identifying gaps in pupils' knowledge or understanding and ensuring the curriculum is adapted to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The report said: "The school has not provided sufficient information and training for adults to make sure that they can adapt the curriculum to meet pupils’ needs. As a result, these pupils are not learning the curriculum as well as they might. In contrast, sixth-form students with additional needs are well supported to be successful in their chosen courses."

'Small improvements' in attendance were noted but it still remains below the national average. Its ‘Bridge’ facility was highlighted for providing bespoke support to re-engage pupils with school life."

The school was praised for improvements in a number of areas. These included changes made to the curriculum to make it 'broad and ambitious for all learners', making reading one of its priorities, for appropriately assessing the needs of SEND pupils, and pupils being given effective careers education, information, advice and guidance.

In terms of staff, the school was said to be 'considerate' of the workload and well-being of staff who receive 'extensive training'. Parental feedback through engagement events organised by the school was said to have shown many parents recognise the improvements that have been made at the school.

However, the trust recognised it needed to give a greater number of parents opportunities to provide constructive feedback to resolve their concerns. The school had 942 pupils aged between 11 to 18 years old at the time of the inspection.

The school has been approached for a comment by DevonLive. To read the full report, please click here.