Redgate Primary Academy in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, has been awarded a ‘good’ rating by Ofsted, following a full inspection in March 2022.

The Somersall Street special school – for children with moderate, severe and complex learning difficulties – joined the multi-academy trust in 2017 after Ofsted previously judged the school to be inadequate. Since joining Diverse Academies, a new leadership and management team has driven forward school improvement, and in its latest visit, Ofsted found the academy to be ‘good’ in all areas.

The two-day visit looked at the overall effectiveness of the school, including the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, as well as leadership and management. In its report, published in May, the academy was praised for having ‘high expectations for pupils’ and for having a ‘secure understanding of pupils’ additional needs’.

Ofsted commented that the ‘school is friendly and inclusive,’ and that ‘children enjoy their time in school’ with pupil’s personal development being a ‘high priority’. Staff were credited for getting to ‘know pupils very well’ and for ensuring ‘learning matches pupils’ individual needs’, and were also praised for having a ‘thorough understanding of the personal and academic progress pupils make.’ Independence and life skills was highlighted as a strength, with Ofsted observing that ‘there is a strong focus on helping pupils to keep safe, develop independence and gain life skills’.

In response to the good Ofsted judgement, executive principal, Gareth Letton, said: “We are tremendously proud of what has been achieved at Redgate Primary Academy. The leadership team and staff have worked tirelessly together to enhance the quality of education for our children, and this judgement is testament to that. Redgate is a wonderful place to be and we are absolutely delighted by the outcome.

“This is also a great example of how we work as part of a group of schools – the academy team has not only built on their local knowledge, skills and experience, but also drawn from the wider multi-academy trust. And these benefits are two-way, as the academy’s insights and understanding of working with children with special educational needs are also invaluable to colleagues working across our mainstream settings.”

Dave Cotton, CEO of Diverse Academies Trust added: “As a trust, we offer our academies the opportunity to be part of a larger, high-performing team where colleagues can unlock support from a number of sources to drive school improvement at pace. We believe it’s a significant strength for us and is part of the turnaround success story for Redgate. I am incredibly grateful to the whole team for their continued commitment to making this unique learning environment one that our academy community can rightly be proud of.”

Parents and carers also spoke highly of Redgate Primary Academy, with one parent commenting, “I can’t thank the school enough for what they do on a daily basis for my child.”