North Chadderton School has been told it must improve by Ofsted inspectors in a report published this week.

The school, which was inspected in December last year, was previously rated as ‘good’.

However, the school has been criticised for the quality of its education in the latest report.

In the report, the four-strong inspection team, led by lead inspector Ben Hill, rated the school as ‘good’ in all areas except for the quality of education, leading to an overall rating of ‘requires improvement’.

The school was told it was good in the areas of ‘behaviour and attitudes,’ ‘personal development,’ ‘leadership and management,’ and for its sixth-form provision.

A ‘strong culture of safeguarding’ was praised at the school, with potentially vulnerable pupils and students said to be kept safe.

However, this was not enough to bring up the overall rating of the school.

Leadership was praised for its high aspirations for pupils and students, and teachers were praised for knowing their subjects well in the sixth form.

However, teachers in some subjects in the secondary school were said to have a less clear picture of how pupils are learning the curriculum, with leaders needing further support to develop it.

Inspectors said teachers in some subjects in the secondary school did not have a thorough enough understanding of what pupils have learned and remembered, making it difficult to identify and address gaps in learning.

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Leaders were also said to not thoroughly identify the specific aspects of reading that some pupils struggle with, meaning pupils did not get the most effective support to improve their reading skills.

The school was told that pupils do not ‘build a secure body of subject knowledge’ and that senior leaders should work to ensure that subject leaders are clear about what they want pupils to know and remember.

Leaders were also told to ensure they diagnose gaps in pupils’ reading knowledge accurately so that those who were behind could catch up.

When asked for comment, North Chadderton School referred to a letter sent to parents explaining the rating.

In the letter, Iain Windeatt, chair of The Oak Trust, which manages the school, said: “Every Ofsted inspection brings the opportunity to showcase the ethos and values of a school and I believe that the recent inspection at North Chadderton School allowed us to do just that.

“The pupils and sixth form students displayed pride in their school environment and their learning in both their words and actions, while leaders and staff were unwavering in their commitment to positively impact the learning of every child.

“All are a credit to the school. While we acknowledge that the overall grading may be disheartening, it recognises the hard work and determination of the leaders and staff within the school, and gives us validation that the path we are on is the right one that will allow the pupils, sixth form students and community of North Chadderton to continue to reach their full potential.

“We will continue as Trust to both support and challenge the leaders and staff to ensure that the momentum of positive improvement endures.

“On behalf of The Oak Trust I would like to thank our whole community for their dedication to the future of the children of North Chadderton School and look forward to celebrating the many achievements to come.”