All Saints National Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

These are exciting times at All Saints National Academy. The last few years have seen many improvements.

At the heart of these improvements are experienced leaders and caring staff. Everyone wants the very best outcomes for the pupils. The pupils are responding well to the school's higher expectations.

The school values its relationships with families and the local community. The school has worked hard to ensure that the curriculum is relevant to the community it serves. Pupils are interested in learning and developing their independence.

From the early years, pupils are happy and eager to learn. The school is calm and pupils are well behaved.

Pupils...' safety in and out of school is a top priority.

The school ensures that pupils learn how to build positive relationships. Pupils know how to raise concerns about things that worry them, and how to keep themselves safe online.

The school provides many wider opportunities for pupils.

For example, pupils visited a zoo and the Tower of London. This supplements their geography and history learning. Pupils learn important skills for life.

For example, the 'stop the bleed' programme has given older pupils important knowledge of emergency first aid.

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

Since the last inspection, the school has undertaken a further review of the curriculum. It has determined the important content that pupils should learn.

New schemes of work are in place in some subjects, which are now better suited to the needs of pupils. In many subjects the curriculum is well embedded. In these subjects, teachers' effective checks on pupils' learning help them to fill any gaps in pupils' knowledge.

This means that pupils can recall previous learning and talk confidently about the things they are learning now. However, this successful approach is not yet consistent across the curriculum. In a few subjects, teachers do not identify all the gaps in pupils' knowledge.

The school's monitoring has not picked this up and addressed it. As a result, pupils find it hard to build successfully on their learning.Many pupils join the school with very low starting points.

Staff skilfully help pupils who have fallen behind in their learning to catch up. They adapt their teaching and resources to meet the needs of all pupils. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported.

As a result, all pupils make good progress with their learning.

The reading curriculum has been completely transformed. Reading is now a priority.

Pupils are taught to read through regular lessons using the school's new phonics scheme. All staff are effective in the teaching of reading. As a result, pupils at the earliest stages of reading quickly become confident, fluent readers.

Pupils say that reading is important. They enjoy reading books from the school library or from their classroom reading corners.

Children get off to a flying start in the early years because the curriculum is well developed.

Children are well prepared for Year 1. They benefit from a wide range of exciting activities, inside and outside the classroom. Over time, children in the early years become increasingly independent and develop effective learning habits.

This strong start continues throughout the school. Pupils continue to develop their resilience to learning and to new experiences. They get on well together and they behave well both in and out of the classroom.

The school is committed to giving pupils a wide programme of enrichment activities. Pupils enjoy opportunities to go on trips and develop their talents and interests. Some pupils take on responsibilities, such as becoming worship leaders or reading ambassadors.

One pupil summed up the responses of many others by saying, 'The school works hard for us, to give us nice things like a library, good dinners, help with learning and music lessons.'

In past years, too many pupils took too many days out of school. The school has prioritised working with families to improve pupil attendance.

This has helped pupils with the lowest attendance to increase their attendance quickly.

Trustees and executive leaders know the school well. The recruitment of an experienced executive principal and a new head of school has been the key to recent improvements.

As a result, the school now provides pupils with a better quality of education.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school has not checked the implementation and impact of the curriculum in a small number of subjects well enough.

As a result, areas that need further development have not been identified and addressed. The school should ensure that all subject leaders develop the expertise to enable them to check the quality and delivery of their subject across the school. ? Assessment in some foundation subjects is not yet well developed.

In those subjects, the school does not have a clear understanding of what pupils know and the gaps they have. As a result, pupils' knowledge does not build sequentially. The school needs to ensure that assessment is effective and that teachers can identify, and then address, the gaps pupils have in their subject knowledge.