Dear families of The Deepings School

This week has been incredibly busy for everyone at The Deepings.  The school was organising the final stages of our Year 6 Open Evening on Tuesday, when we received notification from Ofsted they would be conducting a Section 5 inspection on Wednesday and Thursday.

Completely undaunted, our staff and students hosted the most incredible Open Evening, despite feeling an element of pressure regarding our impending visit.  Being relatively new to the school, this was the first Open Evening I have witnessed as the headteacher.  It was, quite simply, a wonderful event.  I have had incredibly positive feedback from many of the prospective children and their families who attended the event.  Our current students were exemplary.  Many volunteered to attend the evening and act as hosts, tour guides and subject specialists for the evening.  Our subject areas demonstrated how our curriculum builds from primary into secondary and beyond.  Our next steps will be offering prospective families to come and visit for our Discovery Morning, where they will see the school on a normal day and lessons being delivered.  I am very grateful to everyone who made the event so successful.

Our Ofsted inspection lasted for a duration of two days.  At this stage I am not permitted to share any of the findings or the final outcome, until the report has been submitted and approved.  Ofsted follow strict guidelines regarding the release of the report.  I can confirm the report will be received and ready for wider distribution with 30 working days of the inspection visit.   An Ofsted inspection involves every member of our school community and I thank everyone for their contribution.

This is a very unusual way to start the term!  We have had a heat wave to contend with, opened our doors to prospective students and had an inspection!  Throughout all the additional pressure, I am delighted to share how wonderful our students have been, continuing with their commitment to their learning.  Our new teaching staff have settled in very well and students have quickly established good relationships to ensure a positive learning experience.

With the untimely visit this week, our school calendar has been pushed back a week.  Therefore, information regarding extracurricular activities has not been circulated in the usual time frame.  Students will have this information shared with them over the next couple of weeks.  Our extracurricular offer is exciting and enriching, so I hope many take the opportunity to sign up.

I wish you all a happy and restful weekend

Yours sincerely

Ms Kirstie Johnson

Headteacher

---

Calendar dates:

Calendar - The Deepings School (anthemtrust.uk)