Soundwell Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

There are lots of smiles at this school.

Staff smile because they love spending time with the pupils. Pupils smile because they can be themselves. They know that staff like them, respect them and want the best for them.

Strong, trusting relationships between staff and pupils are the reason that this school is such a happy place to be. All pupils have particular social, emotional or communication needs. Staff make sure that pupils feel secure.

Pupils learn to trust adults, behave appropriately and get along with each other.

Staff skilfully teach pupils how to understand and manage their own feelings. They also teach them how to recognise and respect t...he feelings of others.

As a result, pupils learn how to cope in social situations with other children and with adults.

It does not stop there. Staff are determined that every pupil will achieve academically as much as they can.

Staff provide pupils with the knowledge and the personal and social skills they need to prepare them for adulthood. Pupils overcome their anxieties and catch up on essential basic learning, such as how to read. As they get older, pupils work towards gaining nationally recognised qualifications.

This opens up their future career options.

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

All pupils have an education, health and care (EHC) plan. Leaders are determined to prepare them well for adulthood.

To this end, leaders have created a curriculum that teaches pupils what they need for employment, for independent living, for good health and for interacting with friends, family and community.

When a pupil joins the school, staff take the time to get to know them. They unpick what makes the pupil happy and what makes them anxious.

Leaders then create a personal plan for the pupil. Staff follow the plan to support the pupil to handle situations that may arise in the classroom and at social times.

Leaders set clear expectations for what pupils must learn in subjects such as English and mathematics.

For example, they insist that every pupil will learn to read. Many pupils join the school without being able to decode words. Leaders have made sure that staff have the expertise to teach the phonics that pupils need to do this.

As a result, pupils learn to read independently.

This level of detail is still under development for some subjects. Leaders are in the process of extending the range of subjects on offer as pupils reach Year 11.

Leaders train staff in how pupils learn best, and about what can get in the way. Staff appreciate this guidance. As a result, teachers teach in ways that meet each pupil's needs and pupils achieve well.

As part of this process, teachers use non-threatening techniques to check whether pupils have remembered what was taught in the past.For example, pupils read letter sounds from flashcards or complete short quizzes in lessons.

Every part of school life adds something specific to pupils' personal development.

Nothing happens by chance. Staff identify what skills pupils need to develop. They then provide an experience to help it happen.

For example, some pupils recently visited a café to practise their social skills in the community, with the aim of making the café staff smile.

Leaders take similar care with careers guidance. They tease out pupils' interests and guide them towards appropriate next steps.

This includes providing access to relevant qualifications.

The school opened around three years ago, in temporary accommodation. The academy council has overseen the move to the current site and the rapid growth in numbers.

It has kept a firm focus on providing the best for pupils. The council is working well with the new sponsor to ease the transfer of the trust.

Leaders have worked hard to ensure that the school provides a good quality of education in its first few years.

Their systems and processes are still new. They know that there is a challenge to achieve complete consistency beyond the core subjects as the age range of its pupils expands and the curriculum grows.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The vigilance around safeguarding reflects the high degree to which every member of staff knows pupils well and wants the best for them. Leaders have made sure that staff are well trained to identify concerns. Issues are followed up promptly and meticulously.

Teaching pupils to be aware of risk and keep themselves safe is a strong feature of the curriculum. It addresses issues such as safety in the home and when outside. It teaches pupils about the dangers of being online.

It also teaches about healthy relationships, both in person and in the virtual world.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• As the age range of pupils extends, maintaining the consistency of provision and extending it across the breadth of the school's work will be a challenge. Leaders need to ensure that the processes that have been successful so far maintain and enhance the quality of provision consistently across all aspects of provision for all pupils.