A Willesden secondary school has been rated ‘good’ a second time following a quick visit by education chiefs.

%image(15557391, type="article-full", alt="Pupils at Capital City Academy which has retained a "good" rating from Ofsted.")

Capital City Academy, in Doyle Gardens, was inspected by Ofsted on January 30 who said the school continues to provide a good quality of education.

The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in November 2015, a year after it was rated inadequate.

The report, published on Friday said staff had “continued to drive standards” since the last inspection and praised the leadership team saying its “determination, empathy and curiosity, and the transparency of your approach, helps all pupils feel valued.”

The inspection team were also impressed with the new Capital Community approach fostering relationships between pupils and staff.

Pupils felt safe and there was a strong culture of safeguarding prioritising their safety.

“Your staff know pupils well, and keep a systematic watching brief on those that are vulnerable, engaging fully with relevant agencies.”

The report added: “Your behaviour logs and incident reports agree with pupils’ view that bullying and prejudicial behaviour is rare in the school and is dealt with effectively”.

Officers also looked attainment and progress in science, humanities and vocational subjects which they said “has been significantly below average for the last two years”.

Science still needed improving but vocational and applied learning were strong.

Moving forward the school should increase the progress of the most-able pupils and “consistently implement the assessment policy and plan learning that is tailored to pupils’ needs and abilities” for all pupils, inspectors noted.

Principal Marianne Jeanes said: “We know that there are always areas in which we can improve but we are thrilled that Ofsted have endorsed our approach, recognised our successes, and confirmed that we are on the right trajectory to take Capital to Outstanding.

“This has given us the confidence to continue to strive hard in all these areas because the work we do is having an impact for our young people and in our community.”

She said prospective parents and students are invited to the school for a series of Summer Open Mornings at 10am on May 14, May 21 and July 12 to see the “Capital Community in action”.