Wakefield school involevd in multi-million pound leaky roof saga is rated ‘good' by Ofsted

Sandal Magna School has been rated “good” in all areas by the education watchdog following an inspection despite problems surrounding its construction.

Ofsted praised the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision at the school.

The report arrived to a backdrop of difficulty at the school outside the classroom.

Roof leaks have repeatedly forced pupils out of the classroom, despite the school only being built in 2010.

Attempts to fix it were constantly hit by setbacks.

An independent inquiry carried out last year found multiple failings across a 15-year period.

In April this year, architects were ordered to pay the council £1.3m in damages.

An adjudicator found that the architects that designed the Belle Vue Road building were largely responsible for the issues.

But in its new report Ofsted said: “Pupils are proud and happy to be part of the Sandal Magna family. The school is a calm place,where adults and pupils show respect for each other.

"Pupils feel safe in this school. They behave well in lesson sand at play times. They say that bullying is very rare.

"The well-designed curriculum means that teachers are clear about what to teach and when to teach it over the year.

“Staff know pupils and families well. Leaders ensure that staff are well trained and know what they need to do to keep pupils safe.”

Headteacher Craig Elliott said: “I am delighted that inspectors could recognise the successes of our academy after such a turbulent two years during the building works.

"The whole school community, governors and our academy trust certainly pulled together to ensure that despite the physical disruption, our pupils continue to receive an excellent education.

"I am incredibly proud of our wonderful children and our brilliant Sandal Magna staff.”

The roof works took place from May 2020 to April 2022.

The majority of children were being educated offsite in a nearby temporary building for the two years.

The school had only been back in classrooms for one and a half terms before the inspection occurred.