Outstanding Governance Award

As you are aware from our weekly letters the Governors at David Nieper Academy were finalists in the National Governors Association (NGA) Outstanding Governors of the year – a fantastic achievement following our excellent Ofsted visit and report in September 2022. This meant that the whole Governing body was invited down to the House of Commons for the award ceremony.

Our local MP, Nigel Mills, kindly arranged for us to have a tour of the Houses of Parliament prior to the ceremony which made the day even more special. We were able to have photos on the House of Parliament terrace with beautiful views of Big Ben and the London Eye.

We were able to meet all of the other finalists across a range of categories of Governance work.

As finalists we were Highly Commended with the following comments made about us:

‘The board’s strong vision and practices have played a vital role in a period of significant improvement, achieving its best Ofsted result in 20 years.

It has evolved into a highly desirable school with  good quality teaching and greatly improved student outcomes. Judges were particularly  impressed by the board’s efforts to develop a positive culture for staff and students, set through relevant policies and procedures. Self-evaluation has resulted in the board changing its structure and practices to further effective governance. Trustees have an excellent understanding of the school and its needs, achieved through quality data, monitoring visits, stakeholder engagement and the use of external expertise. This has enabled them to make well-informed decisions and monitor their effects.

The board understands and works to ensure it reflects the community it serves and demonstrates a passion for raising the aspirations of pupils, equipping them with the education and skills needed to reach their potential.’

The trophy and certificate are now proudly displayed in our trophy cabinets please do have a look next time you visit the academy.

We are exceptionally proud to have been selected as finalists for this prestigious award. I am immensely grateful to all of our Governors past and present who have given up so much time and energy to support, guide, advise and oversee the dramatic developments at David Nieper Academy since our opening in 2016. Thank you. And thank you to everyone who has supported us on our journey to this point. We are very excited for the future as we start to work much more closely with new schools joining the Trust.

Dr Hobbs

Please click the link to read our article on the Spirit of Alfreton – https://alfreton.spiritof.uk/academy-highly-commended-at-national-awards/