EDUCATION inspectors have identified improvements at a secondary school in Dursley since its last inspection.

Following a short visit to the school last month, a letter has been sent to the head teacher at Rednock School by Ofsted outlining what progress has been made since it awarded a ‘good’ rating at the end of 2014.

They found “a strong drive to raise the expectations and aspirations of both staff and pupils” and that improvements have been made over the last three years.

In a letter to head teacher David Alexander, inspector Ann Cox said: “You provide strong leadership with a clear sense of direction. 

“In recent years you have used opportunities to appoint new senior teachers to strengthen the leadership team.

“You have ensured that they develop the expertise to be effective in bringing about improvements.”

She said that while some parents had expressed concerns about bullying, pupils told inspectors that bullying was not common and that the school deals with issues “swiftly and effectively”.

Issues were raised about the comparatively poor progress made by disadvantaged pupils against the national average but that the issue was being addressed by school leaders.

A focus on improving the school’s sixth-form provision was also praised by inspectors with past outcomes for its students “not as good as they should have been”.

Further improvement to sixth-formers’ achievement and skills and checks to monitor the effectiveness of actions taken to help disadvantaged students are identified in the report as priorities for school leaders and governors to work on.

Mr Alexander said: “There is still work to do, but we are aware of what it is and how to tackle it. The inspectors acknowledged that. 

“As a school where ‘every child does matter’ we provide a holistic, well-grounded education which provides good exam results and prepares students for the next step, irrespective of their background.”