Archbishop Sentamu Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils' experiences at the school vary widely. Many pupils enjoy their lessons and benefit from the school's extensive facilities. However, not all pupils are benefiting fully from these, including the increasing number of pupils who do not attend school regularly.

Pupils are concerned about the standards of behaviour, especially out of lessons, in corridors and outside during social times. Pupils say that some standards have declined since the last school inspection. The records that the school holds on incidents of poor behaviour confirm pupils' perceptions.

Despite this, pupils feel safe at school and do not worry about bullying.

Many staff are equally con...cerned about pupils' attitudes to education and the lack of respect shown by pupils. However, staff do recognise the recent improvements that are being introduced to address their concerns.

These include the appointment of new leaders, additional support staff and enhanced support from the multi-academy trust.

Pupils access a range of exciting subjects, including motor engineering, all delivered in purpose-built facilities. However, there are not enough planned opportunities for pupils to revisit and consolidate the most important parts of their learning.

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

Standards of behaviour have not improved since the last school inspection, which took place in November 2021. To a large degree, the experiences many pupils have at the school have deteriorated during this time.

Despite leaders' efforts to create a calm and orderly environment, the school's own records indicate concerning, and in many cases rising, occurrences of poor behaviour, removals from lessons, serious incidents, use of internal 'seclusion' facilities and formal suspensions.

Across the first two terms of this school year, for example, there have been almost 4,500 occasions when pupils have been placed in the internal 'seclusion' rooms, most commonly for half a day or less. Almost one in every five pupils has been suspended from school this year.

Many incidents of poor behaviour are associated with a lack of respect shown from pupils towards staff.

Staff who challenge pupils often fail to get them to comply with basic, reasonable requests. There is also variation in the implementation of the school's current behaviour and rewards policy. However, leaders have very recently put new systems and key personnel in place to start to address this.

A new senior leader is leading this important work. Several new pastoral staff have joined the school to work with vulnerable pupils. Extensive support from leaders from the trust has also recently been put in place.

Pupils do not attend school regularly enough. Almost half of all pupils have concerning levels of absence. As the number of pupils who are absent regularly has increased, some of the approaches to improving attendance have become fragmented.

The attendance of pupils who attend the school's 'Arc' provision, many of whom are vulnerable, is of particular concern. Despite this provision's uninspiring physical environment, pupils here are well supported.

Leaders have carefully considered the subjects being taught at the school, including in the sixth form.

They are committed to providing a curriculum which inspires pupils, while also ensuring they are ready for the world of work. This is particularly well thought through in the sixth form. The wider pastoral offer for sixth-form students, including the approach to improving their attendance and preparing them for their next steps, is a strength of the school.

Subject leaders are continuing to refine teaching plans to ensure pupils are taught topics in a sensible order. Although they have identified the most important aspects within each subject, they have not yet fully considered ways to ensure these topics are revisited. As a result, some pupils are not remembering some of what they have been taught.

However, pupils, including those in the sixth form, enjoy their lessons and have good relationships with teachers in lessons.

Until recently, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities have not been well supported. Teachers have not always been told how to meet the needs of individual pupils.

However, leaders have added capacity in this important area, and plans are in place to further enhance this. Leaders have also identified groups of pupils who need support with reading and are providing the help needed to address this.

Leaders have been slow to introduce extra-curricular opportunities following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many pupils, including older pupils who have been at the school for a number of years, have never been on a school trip or accessed an extra-curricular opportunity. The notable exceptions to this are the pupils involved in the school's sports scholarship provision. These pupils regularly access a wide range of opportunities.

The quality of the personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum is variable. Leaders' work to monitor and develop this aspect of the curriculum was put on hold while they focused their attention on issues of poor pupil behaviour. However, their drive to quality assure and improve the PSHE curriculum has since resumed.

School governors, working alongside trustees and other leaders from the trust, know the school well. The findings from this inspection did not come as a surprise. These leaders were already fully informed of the schools' priorities and have helped develop detailed plans for improvement.

Although leaders' efforts to improve the school have been impeded by a range of internal and external factors, they are currently working at pace to ensure the school receives the help it needs to improve.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Despite the frequency of incidents of poor behaviour, pupils feel safe at school.

They have named adults to go to and have confidence they will be well supported. Where pupils need help, it is given, and staff keep detailed records to help monitor and further support pupils.

Staff receive regular training on how to keep pupils safe.

They are well-informed about the systems in place locally and the requirements of statutory guidance. Leaders carry out the necessary recruitment checks on new staff before they start employment at school.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There is not a calm and orderly environment throughout school.

The behaviour of too many pupils disrupts the experiences of others. Too many pupils do not show respect to staff. Levels of poor behaviour and rates of 'seclusion' and suspension are high.

There is inconsistency in the application of the behaviour policy. Leaders must take further action to ensure the standards of pupil behaviour are acceptable. ? Too many pupils do not attend school regularly enough.

These pupils are falling behind because of the lessons they are missing. They are not as prepared for their next steps as they could be. Leaders must engage with the community to promote and secure higher levels of pupil attendance.

• The PSHE curriculum is not planned in a way that supports pupils to secure important information over time. Leaders have not taken an academic approach to this important learning. Enrichment opportunities are not planned through the curriculum.

Leaders' plans to improve this area of the curriculum must be enacted. ? The push to improve the quality of education is ongoing. Some subjects are only just implementing their new curriculum plans.

There are some inconsistencies in the way pupils learn new topics. Not all teachers plan opportunities for pupils to revisit the most important subject content. Leaders should continue to refine teaching plans to ensure pupils are supported to retain and understand their new learning.