Sheffield secondary school impresses Ofsted with its continued rate of improvement

Parkwood E-Act Academy, at Shirecliffe, continues to be rated as 'good' after Ofsted inspectors found that it had maintained a high standard of education.

The school received praise across all four inspection categories - achievement of pupils, quality of teaching, behaviour and safety of pupils, leadership and management.

Inspectors praised headteacher Vicky Simcock, who joined the school in September 2016, for her 'unswerving determination' to improve the life chances of pupils by raising expectations across the board.

Ms Simcock was delighted with the inspection outcome.

She said: "I am delighted that Parkwood E-ACT Academy continues to be recognised as the good school that it is, as confirmed by Ofsted in the inspection conducted earlier this month.

"Ofsted recognises the good quality of education that our students receive, and the significant improvements that we continue to make together across the academy, improving the life chances of our students.

"I am hugely positive about the future and look forward to taking the school to even greater success.

"Parkwood is lucky to have a team of dedicated leaders, teachers and support staff that really do care about every students’ success.”

Inspectors said standards in maths have risen and the school is now in the top 20 per cent of schools across the country for pupils' progress due to the quality of teaching and leadership.

They added that there is more consistently strong teaching and teachers set work appropriate to pupils' ability.

Poor behaviour has also 'reduced substantially' according to the inspection report and work has been carried out to improve attendance and reduce persistent absence.