Endeavour Academy Durham

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school The headteacher, staff and trustees have established an effective school that has a significant transformative impact on pupils' personal development, behaviour and welfare.

Outcomes for pupils are good overall. Most pupils arrive with knowledge and skills that are lower than those expected for their age. This is often due to gaps in their learning linked to a history of negative experiences or disrupted education in mainstream schools.

With help and support from skilled staff, well-designed induction programmes and excellent support for their social and emotional needs, they re-engage in learning and make good progress. Teachers are cons...istently encouraging, are skilled communicators and have high expectations. Pupils are quickly engrossed in learning.

They become more confident and make good progress in English, mathematics and science from their different starting points. Pupils make strong progress in vocational courses in response to high-quality specialist teaching. Careers advice, information and guidance are excellent.

As a result, pupils make informed decisions about their future. Pupils are well prepared for their next stage of education, employment or training. A strong safeguarding culture is established in the school.

Pupils say they feel safe while at school. Good communication with parents and carers is a strength of the school. Parents are highly supportive of the care and support the school provide to their children.

The new headteacher provides strong and effective leadership. She is ambitious for pupils to achieve the best they can. Her vision is shared by staff and trustees.

Leaders know the school's strengths and areas for development. Improvement plans are based on their accurate and sharp analysis, but do not include sufficiently precise measures and timescales against which trustees can check on progress. Assessment systems are developing quickly, but information is not used as well as it could be to identify gaps in learning so that teaching has a greater impact on outcomes in English, mathematics and science.

Occasionally, the most able pupils, and those who are ready to move on in their learning, are not stretched and challenged by the work they are given. Programmes of staff training are in place, but are not focused sharply enough on developing expertise in some subjects taught.

Information about this school

Endeavour Academy provides alternative education for pupils who are experiencing social and emotional issues in mainstream education.

Most pupils come from a White British background, with few from different minority ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well below average. All pupils have SEN and/or disabilities.

The proportion of pupils who are eligible for support through the pupil premium funding is significantly above average. The school is part of the Apollo Schools Trust. Trustees also act as a governing body.

The school is a small provision based within East Durham College, a further education college. Pupils undertake some of their lessons on discrete courses at East Durham's Peterlee campus and Technical Academy. The school was previously known as Apollo Studio Academy from 1 September 2014 until August 2017, when the school was re-designated.

Endeavour Academy admitted its first pupils in the spring term of 2018. The school has had temporary staffing and an interim headteacher during much of its first year. A permanent headteacher and three of the teaching staff are new to the school, joining on 1 September 2018.

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