Saint Nathaniel’s Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Leaders, governors and trustees are very ambitious for the school.

They are committed to improving the life chances of all pupils. The principal provides strong leadership. Together with his leadership team, he has brought about considerable improvements in teaching, pupils' achievement and their behaviour.

Both the local governing body and St Bart's multi-academy trust provide school leaders with highly effective support and challenge to drive improvement. Outcomes are improving and pupils in all year groups are now making good progress, especially in writing and mathematics. Actions taken to improve reading mean that more pupils are now... reaching the expected standard for their age.

Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils show that they are rapidly catching up with others, although there is still some underperformance. Safeguarding is effective, staff are vigilant in maintaining pupils' safety and welfare. Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet.

Parents are very positive about the school and say how much it has improved in every aspect since joining the multi-academy trust. The vast majority would recommend it to others. Leaders have created a culture in which both staff and pupils can achieve their best and there is a constant focus on improving outcomes for all pupils.

Almost all teaching staff have joined the school in the last three years. As a result of high-quality training, high expectations and effective performance management, teaching, learning and assessment are good across the school. Pupils' behaviour is of a consistently high standard and pupils have excellent attitudes to learning.

They are proud of their achievements and their school. In a minority of lessons, some activities are not matched carefully enough to the needs of specific pupils. Children in the early years develop an enjoyment of learning in a safe, stimulating and well organised environment.

They are eager to join in and make excellent progress from their starting points. Provision for pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school and pupils are able to thrive. Despite leaders' efforts to improve attendance, the number of pupils who are absent or arrive late for school remains too high.

Information about this school

The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website. The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish. The school became an academy in May 2014.

It is a member of St Bart's multi-academy trust. The multi-academy trust brokers support from the Britannia Teaching School Alliance to help the school improve. This is a larger than average primary school.

The school makes provision for two-year-olds. This is managed by the local governing body. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is above the national average, as is the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language.

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils is almost double the national average. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is higher than that found in most primary schools. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.