Victory Park Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils who attend Victory Park Academy have not had positive experiences of school and education previously. Overall, pupils benefit from their time here. Increasing proportions of pupils completing their education here gain a range of useful qualifications that help with the next stage of education or employment.

Almost all pupils who attend for a short time are successful in returning to mainstream schools to continue with their education.

Staff have a strong understanding of pupils' social and emotional needs. Staff are caring and supportive.

They manage pupils' behaviour sensitively and well. Pupils receive the help they need to improve and manage their o...wn behaviour. They know the high expectations that adults have in terms of behaviour.

Pupils feel safe. Bullying is rare and not tolerated.

Most pupils make strong improvements in their attitudes to learning and attendance, especially those who stay here for a longer period.

For pupils at the school for a short time, there is not a clear focus on what these pupils need to learn in all subjects. This is particularly true for primary-school pupils who are still learning to read. This does not help pupils to catch up or keep up with learning when they return to their usual school.

Pupils have many trips, activities and visits from speakers. Pupils develop new interests, explore career opportunities and are prepared for life beyond school.

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

Leaders want to give pupils the best possible chance to re-engage with learning and education.

Leaders provide a broad curriculum. They organise the curriculum well in most subjects. Pupils learn important subject knowledge in an order that builds on what they already know.

Teachers are secure in their subject knowledge. They ensure that important knowledge is revisited to help pupils remember it.

Leaders prioritise improving pupils' behaviour.

This is so that pupils are less likely to miss out on education in the future due to their behaviour. However, leaders have not identified the important subject knowledge that pupils who are at Victory Park for a short time need to learn to help them return to school successfully. Leaders have not ensured that teachers identify gaps in learning for these pupils quickly enough.

Teaching is not always adapted to build on what these pupils already know and can do.

Leaders know the importance of pupils being able to read, write and communicate well. Teachers provide opportunities for pupils to use and develop their reading and writing knowledge across the curriculum.

However, teachers occasionally choose activities that do not let pupils use or practise their writing knowledge. There are weaknesses in leaders' approach to teaching reading. Staff have only recently started to receive the training they need to teach phonics effectively.

Pupils who struggle with reading have not had the help they need in order to learn to read fluently quickly enough. Pupils do not read a range of text types across all year groups. Leaders know that there is still more work to do to promote reading for pleasure.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) access the full curriculum. Staff understand pupils' social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs well. There is training planned to help staff better support other types of SEND.

Staff do not use the information on how to support the learning of pupils with SEND consistently well. Some staff do not know pupils' individual targets or what pupils need to do to achieve these.

Leaders promote pupils' personal development well.

Pupils deepen their understanding of relevant issues in personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE). Pupils learn about getting on with others, taking responsibility for their actions and respecting individual differences. Leaders provide helpful and relevant guidance so that pupils can make informed choices about future careers, further education or training.

Staff enjoy working at the school. They feel well supported. School leaders have identified priorities for improvement.

However, leaders have only recently planned or started to provide the training that teachers need to achieve whole-school priorities. This is particularly the case for the teaching of reading and pupils with SEND. School leaders have an over-generous view of the effectiveness of some aspects of their work.

The Parallel Learning Trust and academy advisory council check regularly on leaders' work. They hold leaders to account. They ensure that improvements are made to the quality of provision.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Pupils have a good understanding of different types of risk, including those posed by social media and technology. Through PSHE lessons and a well-planned programme of assemblies and visiting speakers, pupils learn how to stay safe.

Leaders work closely with other agencies to make pupils aware of risks such as gang activity and criminal exploitation. Leaders follow up absence rigorously and check that pupils are safe.

Leaders' checks that staff are suitable to work in schools are thorough and accurately recorded.

Staff know how to recognise and report concerns. Leaders act swiftly and appropriately to keep pupils safe from harm.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have not identified the knowledge in the curriculum that they want pupils who are on the school's short programmes to learn.

Aspects of the quality of education do not link well with what pupils have learned previously in their usual school or what learning pupils may have missed. Leaders should ensure that teachers use their checks on pupils' learning, combined with the information they receive from other schools, to identify the important knowledge that pupils on short-stay programmes need to learn. ? Leaders have only recently prioritised reading.

Staff have not had the training they need to teach reading effectively to pupils who have not gained reading fluency. Leaders should ensure that they urgently implement their intended curriculum plans for the teaching of reading so it can be taught consistently and well. ? Individual support plans are not used consistently by staff to plan lessons or adapt activities.

While teachers have a good understanding of how to support pupils' SEMH needs, they are not as able to support pupils with other types of SEND. This prevents some pupils from learning as well as they should. Leaders should ensure that all staff know how to support the full range of SEND in the school effectively.

• School leaders have an over-generous view of the school's effectiveness. They have not identified the weaknesses in the curriculum in a timely fashion. Leaders should ensure that their regular checks on teaching are used to accurately identify areas for improvement and determine whether the actions they are taking are bringing about the improvements intended.

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