Academy@Worden

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend Academy@Worden. They appreciate the range of wider, cultural opportunities that are on offer to them.

Pupils treat each other with kindness. They show respect for diversity.

Pupils told inspectors that the school will listen to their concerns.

This helps to ensure that pupils feel safe and happy in school.

Pupils are polite and respectful. They make visitors to their school feel welcome.

In lessons and during social times, there is a calm and orderly atmosphere. Pupils understand the school's high expectations of their learning. They work hard to meet them.

The school acknowledges pupils' efforts with a ra...nge of rewards. This supports them to behave and achieve well.

Pupils are encouraged to participate in a range of experiences outside of the classroom.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are fully included in the life of the school. During the inspection, inspectors saw the commitment that pupils had in preparing to showcase their talents in the school show, 'Shrek'. Pupils regularly contribute to the school community, for example, as volunteer peer readers and through the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme.

This enriches their learning.

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

The school has designed a broad and ambitious curriculum. It has thought carefully about the knowledge that pupils should learn.

The curriculum is ordered sensibly to ensure that pupils have the prior knowledge to learn successfully.

Teachers deliver the curriculum clearly using their secure subject knowledge. Typically, teachers use activities that ensure pupils know and remember more.

Teachers check what pupils have learned effectively through a range of strategies. Consequently, they have an accurate view of what pupils know and can do before moving on to new learning.

The published outcomes for 2024 show an improvement in pupils' achievement by the end of Year 11.

The school has continued to make positive changes to the curriculum. One of these changes is the priority it has given to reading. The school has developed comprehensive support for pupils at all stages of reading, including those pupils at the earliest stages of learning to read.

The library is at the centre of the school and is encouraging pupils to develop a love of reading. Pupils read well because of these changes. Developments to the curriculum have also resulted in an increase in the proportion of pupils studying the English Baccalaureate suite of qualifications.

The school supports pupils with SEND effectively through a range of strategies inside and outside of the classroom. However, the school does not systematically identify the needs of a small number of pupils until too late in their school journey. Consequently, some pupils do not receive the support that they need quickly enough.

Pupils respond well to the high expectations that the school has for their behaviour. This means that learning is uninterrupted. However, the school does not routinely use the information that it gathers about behaviour or some other aspects of its provision effectively enough.

Therefore, sometimes, support is not targeted at identified groups of pupils to make the biggest difference. The school has created highly effective systems to ensure that pupils' attendance is consistently high. These actions have had a positive impact on the attendance of disadvantaged pupils to ensure that they access education regularly.

Pupils benefit from a thoughtfully designed personal, social, health and economic education curriculum. They learn about healthy relationships in an age-appropriate way. They know how to keep themselves safe.

Pupils are prepared well for the next stage of their education, employment or training. The school offers a range of extra-curricular activities. However, at times, leaders do not ensure that they support disadvantaged pupils to take full advantage of this rich offer.

Trustees share the school's ambitious vision for its pupils. They offer support and challenge to the school to achieve its development aims. Staff appreciate the range of professional development opportunities that the school offers.

Staff value the school's consideration of their workload and well-being. They are immensely proud to work at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The additional needs of a small number of pupils with SEND are not routinely identified early enough. Consequently, these pupils do not receive the support that they need in a timely enough manner. The school should ensure that staff are suitably equipped to identify and meet the needs of these pupils.

• The school does not systematically use the information that it gathers to improve some aspects of its provision. As a result of this, the school's actions sometimes do not target the areas that will have the most impact. The school should strengthen its use of the information that it collects to match its actions strategically to the areas where it will make the most difference.