Dean Trust Rose Bridge

Inspection of Dean Trust Rose Bridge Holt Street, Ince, Wigan, Greater Manchester WN1 3HD

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement

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The headteacher of this school is Lucy Cropper. The school is part of The Dean Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Tarun Kapur, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Damian McGann. 25 and 26 March 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is a welcoming, safe and caring environment for all pupils. Staff forge strong, trusting relationships with pupils and their families. Pupils know that there is always someone who they can talk to if they need support or help. They understand that the school has high expectations for their behaviour. Pupils appreciate that staff will deal quickly and effectively with any incidents of poor behaviour or bullying. The atmosphere around school is calm and orderly. Pupils learn without disruption.

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What is it like to attend this school?

All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), study a broad range of subjects that meet their needs and interests. However, these curriculums are not delivered as well as they could be. This prevents pupils from achieving as highly as they should.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a wide and interesting range of experiences that extend beyond the academic curriculum. For example, they raise donations for local charities, take part in international travel and engage in mentoring opportunities with a number of business and sports partnerships. These experiences enrich pupils’ understanding of the wider world and help to raise their aspirations.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school, supported by the trust, has a clear vision to improve the quality of education that pupils receive at Dean Trust Rose Bridge. Recently, the school has addressed and overcome significant challenges to improving pupils’ performance, including some caused by the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now starting to embed the newly introduced and more ambitious curriculums across a wide range of subjects. However, it is too early to consider the impact of this work.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school makes sure that, in most subjects, the key knowledge that pupils should learn has been identified clearly and precisely. It has also thought about the order in which important knowledge and skills should be taught. However, these curriculums are relatively new, and some are more developed than others. Consequently, over time, not all pupils are learning these curriculums in a coherent manner. This hinders how well pupils learn the important knowledge that they need.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has appropriate assessment strategies in place. Nevertheless, too often, teachers do not use these effectively enough to check that pupils’ knowledge is secure before they move on to new learning. This means that most pupils have gaps in their knowledge and do not remember well what they have been taught. As a result, most pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school ensures that the systems used to identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND are increasingly effective. As a result, teachers now have access to appropriate information that helps them better meet these pupils’ needs. However, not all teachers use this information effectively to adapt the delivery of the curriculum for pupils with 25 and 26 March 2025

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SEND in their subjects. This means that pupils with SEND do not access the curriculum as well as they should.

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Reading is a priority. The school has a sharp focus on identifying and addressing the gaps in pupils’ reading skills promptly. A growing team of well-trained staff have started to deliver appropriate support for any pupils who need to catch up. This helps pupils to read with increased fluency and confidence and to better access the ambitious curriculum.

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Pupils now attend school more regularly than in the past. Moreover, in recent times, pupils’ behaviour has improved dramatically. This is because the school has clear and effective systems to encourage good attendance and help teachers to manage behaviour in lessons. The school engages effectively with the local community to make sure that positive behaviour is upheld both in and out of school. It fosters and promotes very well a community that is tolerant, respectful and supportive.

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The school places a strong emphasis on pupils’ wider development. Pupils benefit from a wide range of well-planned opportunities to promote their physical, social and emotional health and to prepare them for life beyond school. For example, pupils enjoy taking part in the extensive range of extra-curricular clubs such as trampolining, dance, choir and debating. Pupils develop their confidence and leadership skills, for example by becoming members of the popular pupil parliament.

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A comprehensive and effective programme of careers information, advice and guidance is in place for all pupils. This ensures that pupils are well prepared for their next steps when they leave school.

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Trustees provide effective support and challenge for the school as it continues its journey of improvement. Together, the school and trustees provide staff with a wide range of opportunities to enable their continued professional development. Staff feel well supported. They are united in their determination to improve the quality of education that pupils receive.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Most subject curriculums are newly introduced. Some of these curriculums are at a more developed stage than others. Over time, pupils have not been supported effectively to build their knowledge logically. Consequently, they do not achieve as highly as they should. The school should ensure that it completes its curriculum thinking at pace so that pupils benefit fully from curriculum improvements in all subjects and achieve well across the curriculum. 25 and 26 March 2025

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 Some teachers do not use the information that they receive about pupils with SEND to adapt the delivery of the curriculum effectively. This means that pupils with SEND do not access the curriculum as well as they should. The school should ensure that all staff use the information about pupils’ additional needs to support pupils with SEND to achieve highly.  The school’s new strategies for assessment are not fully embedded across all subjects. Teachers do not use assessment information as well as they should to identify and address gaps in pupils’ knowledge. This hinders most pupils from building and retaining key knowledge securely. The school should ensure that teachers make consistent use of assessment strategies in all subjects to securely address gaps in pupils’ knowledge.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 25 and 26 March 2025

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 7 and 8 March 2023, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses one unregistered alternative provision.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 7 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade. 25 and 26 March 2025

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: mathematics, English, science, geography and physical education. For each deep dive, they discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. An inspector also spoke with leaders about the curriculum in some other subjects.  Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, other leaders and staff.  An inspector spoke with representatives of the trust, including the CEO.  Inspectors met with representatives of the local governing body, including the chair of governors.  An inspector spoke with a representative of the local authority.

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 Inspectors spoke with pupils about their experiences of school life. They also observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons and at breaktimes.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. They also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils.  Inspectors reviewed a wide range of evidence, including the school’s self-evaluation documents and records relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record, took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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Inspection team

Lesley Nixon, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Craig Yates Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 March 2025

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achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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