Neale-Wade Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Neale-Wade Academy are beginning to benefit from recent improvements. For example, older pupils say that behaviour is better than before. However, too many of lessons are still disrupted.

The school has raised the level of ambition for all pupils. Younger pupils in particular benefit from an aspirational new curriculum. However, there is significant variability in how the curriculum is delivered.

Consequently, not all pupils learn well and make the progress they should.

Pupils have experienced significant levels of turbulence in recent months. They have seen a high number of changes to staff, including the use of temporary teachers.

This ha...s made it difficult to foster and maintain positive relationships. The majority of pupils feel confident that staff are there and looking out for them. However, some struggle to have trust in staff to resolve their concerns and worries.

Pupils feel safe. Bullying is rare. The school has well-established procedures to deal effectively with cases.

The majority of pupils are polite and respectful. However, a minority use inappropriate language in social situations. While adults challenge this, pupils do not always realise how or why this may cause offence to others.

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

Recent changes within the trust have made a positive impact on the rate of the school's improvement. Additional support and capacity have been provided. This is beginning to deliver rapid and sustainable improvement for all pupils.

Since the previous inspection, the school has redesigned its curriculum. Subject specialists have developed programmes of study that are ambitious for all. They have identified the specific knowledge pupils need to know, including by when.

The delivery of the curriculum, including in the sixth form, and for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), is inconsistent. In some subjects, teaching is well constructed. Simple instructions and well-crafted examples help pupils learn well.

However, at times, teaching lacks this precision. Explanations are not clear and sometimes confusing. Teaching strategies, including the selection of resources, do not always help pupils learn.

This means that some pupils do not understand the key information they have been taught. They are unable to achieve in lessons and develop gaps in their core knowledge.

Some teachers use questions to identify what pupils know.

However, often, questions are vague and general. They are not focused enough to pinpoint specific gaps or misconceptions. Responses from one or two pupils are incorrectly used to determine that everyone is ready to move on.

In these situations, pupils struggle to complete activities. They do not learn well.Some teachers do not routinely check learning that pupils may have missed.

This limits teachers' ability to address significant gaps in pupils' knowledge. As a result, some pupils struggle to learn new content. They cannot recall information over longer time periods.

This makes it difficult for pupils to perform well in examinations and assessments.

Pupils with SEND are well supported. Their needs are accurately identified.

Teaching is adapted to support pupils with SEND to access the same curriculum as their peers. However, as with the curriculum for others, there are inconsistencies in the delivery of the curriculum, which results in pupils not learning as well as they should.

The school has worked hard to ensure that expectations for behaviour are clear.

Despite this, not all adults have defined to pupils how they should meet these standards. As a result, at times, pupils' behaviour falls below what is expected. For example, they display boisterous behaviour in social spaces and use inappropriate language.

Some adults do not apply the policies consistently. As a result, when some pupils misbehave, this is not dealt with quickly. This causes learning to be disrupted in some lessons.

The school has designed a comprehensive programme of life skills. Pupils are taught about the importance of respect and tolerance. They explore the importance of healthy relationships.

However, teaching is inconsistent. This means pupils do not fully understand these issues. The school's careers programme is being developed.

Pupils access some of their entitlement, but this is at times ad-hoc and not well planned.

School and trust leaders have a clear and realistic picture of the school and its provision. There are well-thought-out plans to tackle the priorities of the school.

Where additional capacity has been added, it is making the school better. The board of trustees works with the executive team to maintain a detailed overview of actions and their impact on the school's provision.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Not all teaching is precise enough to support pupils effectively, including those pupils with SEND, to learn the intended key information set out in curriculum plans, including the key knowledge about fostering positive relationships. This means that pupils do not understand what they have been taught. The school should ensure that teachers are supported and equipped to choose the most appropriate pedagogical strategies to ensure that all pupils are consistently provided with the key knowledge needed to progress.

• Teachers do not always use effective strategies to determine exactly what all pupils know and if they are ready to move on. At times, pupils have not fully understood what has been taught. This is not addressed, and pupils are unable to complete learning activities to the depth required to secure the knowledge they have been taught.

As a consequence, pupils do not learn well and cannot recall key information over time. The school should ensure that teachers routinely check all pupils' understanding of key knowledge and adapt their approaches to address gaps and misconceptions. ? Teachers do not always identify and focus clearly enough on the most significant gaps in pupils' knowledge.

Consequently, pupils who are behind in their learning are not able to catch up as quickly as they should. The school must ensure that curriculum planning and teaching swiftly identify and address pupils' most significant gaps in knowledge. ? The school has not ensured that its behaviour policy is consistently applied.

The result of this is that the behaviour of some pupils interrupts the learning of others. Some pupils use language that is inappropriate in social spaces. The school should make sure that all staff implement the behaviour policy consistently and effectively.