Chantry Academy in Ipswich vows to continue ‘journey of improvement’ after being praised by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson
An Ipswich school has vowed to continue improving after its progress was showered with praise by the Education Secretary.
Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education, visited Chantry Academy back in October.
Chantry Academy, part of Active Learning Trust, has been on a journey of improvement over the past decade.
In 2014, it was rated inadequate by Ofsted, and two years ago, one in three students were ‘persistently absent’.
During a meeting with the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), Ms Phillipson praised the school for its progress.
“Back in October last year I visited Chantry Academy on the outskirts of Ipswich,” she said.
“I met a young boy there with special educational needs. He told me that he had always felt too special for a normal school, but not special enough for a special school.
“He worried he just didn’t fit in anywhere, until he joined Chantry Academy.
“Thanks to Chantry’s focus on inclusion, that little boy finally feels that he belongs. And speaking to the headteacher, I could see why.”
Ms Phillipson felt creating an inclusive community was key to its success.
While she said its journey was not yet over, staff were seeing tangible progress.
Ms Phillipson added: “Just two years ago one in three students at Chantry were persistently absent. Now it’s fewer than one in five, back below the national average.
“And the share of pupils getting good grades in English and maths at GCSE has nearly doubled since 2019.”
Craig D'Cunha, executive headteacher at Chantry Academy, expressed his pride at the recognition.
“We were absolutely delighted to welcome Bridget Phillipson in October to hear about, and see first-hand, the work we have done to improve attendance as well as the inclusive culture we have here and how this supports students as they learn,” he added.
“We look forward to continuing our progress, together with the support of our whole school community.”
