Mansfield school praised for improvements as it targets good rating

The Bramble Academy, on Oxclose Lane, was rated requires improvement by education watchdog Ofsted in October 2021, after inspectors found “the quality of education was not good enough”.

Now, following a ‘monitoring visit’ to assess progress, Ofsted has said: “The Bramble Academy continues to require improvement. Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but more work is necessary for the school to become good.”

At the time of its 2021 inspection, the academy, for about 170 children aged up to 11, was part of the Evolve Trust.

However, following Evolve’s closure, it transferred to Greenwood Academies Trust in December – which has been hailed for bringing “much-needed stability”.

In a letter to Panayiota Theodosiou, interim principal, Ofsted inspector Jayne Ashman wrote: “Since the previous inspection, there has been considerable change.

“The school community has been through a great deal of turbulence. There have been several changes to the school’s leadership. Staff turnover has been high. Some of this change slowed the initial pace of the school’s improvement.

“The school joined Greenwood in December. The trust has brought much needed stability. New school leaders are now receiving the high-quality support and challenge needed in order to bring about the rapid change required and that pupils within the school deserve.

“Parents said the school ‘really feels like it is on the up’.

“The leadership of the school is now much more secure. You are setting high expectations of what all pupils can achieve.”

However, Ms Ashman added the curriculum is not yet “sufficiently ambitious” for all pupils and "the reading programme for early readers is still not well taught”.

The trust said academy staff have been “working tirelessly” to “develop a robust improvement plan” and “will continue their commitment to driving positive change and implementing new and innovative improvements across the academy to provide the best possible experience for pupils”.

Miss Theodosiou said: “Since I joined the team at Bramble, it has been my mission to drive forward positive tangible change for all our wonderful pupils and colleagues.

“I am proud to see the progress we have already made is being recognised and I am committed to continue to build on our great improvements.”

Wayne Norrie, Greenwood chief executive, said: “Last year, we had the pleasure of warmly welcoming Bramble to Greenwood and I am so proud of all the wonderful improvements the academy has made and will continue to make.

“The pupils, families and colleagues at the academy deserve the best possible educational experience and we are committed to continuing our efforts that will make this a reality.

“Step by step we will continue to work alongside leaders at the academy to ensure all staff and pupils at the feel well-supported, confident and happy to come to school each and every day. This report is only the beginning of the great journey of improvement across the academy.”