Ark All Saints Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Ark All Saints Academy continues to be a good school.

The principal of this school is Lucy Frame. This school is part of Ark Schools multi-academy trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school.

The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Lucy Heller, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Sir Paul Marshall.

What is it like to attend this school?

This school is a caring, safe and ambitious community based on the Christian principle of looking after one another. Staff and pupils are kind and supportive.

Pupils feel that they are part of a family at this school. Activities such as the weekly whole-school 's...hout out' help to develop this strong sense of community. Staff know their pupils very well.

This means they can address any concerns quickly and put support in place when it is needed.

The school has high expectations for pupils to achieve well. This ambition extends to pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

These pupils follow the same broad and balanced curriculum as their peers. The curriculum is taught by teachers with strong subject knowledge. Very clear and strong routines give pupils a consistent structure to their learning across the different subjects.

Pupils are polite, engaging and proud of their school. They recognise the opportunities that the school gives them to achieve. This is demonstrated by high levels of attendance.

Pupils work hard and they are ambitious for their future. They behave very well in lessons, listening to their teachers and to each other. Pupils are safe in school.

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

Pupils follow a very carefully considered curriculum that goes beyond the scope of the national curriculum. Leaders have ensured that subject content has been selected so that pupils are able to learn more and remember more over time. For example, in English, pupils study Charles Dickens in Year 7 and revisit the key themes regularly so they are prepared to analyse 'A Christmas Carol' at GCSE level.

In art, pupils develop their drawing skills by tackling increasingly challenging projects each year. Teachers have very strong subject knowledge. They check pupils' understanding regularly.

In lessons, teachers routinely refer back to earlier subject content to help pupils make links in their learning. On occasion, however, teaching activities are not selected with enough precision and do not help pupils to progress well through the curriculum. This leads to some pupils not completing work and developing gaps in knowledge.

Pupils with SEND are well supported to access the curriculum. Teachers are given detailed information and know these pupils well. Leaders also make sure that pupils who need additional help with their reading get extra support so that they can catch up quickly.

The school has very high expectations of pupils' behaviour. Leaders have put in place strategies to support those pupils who need help to meet these expectations. Pupils know that discriminatory language will not be tolerated.

Behaviour in lessons is very positive. Pupils do not disturb others' learning. Pupils are kind to each other and praise each other.

Outside of lessons, the school's high expectations for behaviour are sometimes not met. Pupils do not consistently self-regulate or keep their hands to themselves. This results in occasional instances of behaviour that are not conducive to a calm learning environment, although staff manage these well.

Leaders are keen to ensure that pupils are well prepared for life beyond school. A carefully sequenced tutor programme helps pupils to learn very clear messages about responsibility and safety. Pupils have opportunities to reflect through collective worship.

At the end of every week, the whole school gets together for 'shout out'. This allows all pupils to celebrate examples of success, kindness and resilience. Pupils value the regular citizenship days, which give them opportunities to explore issues such as online safety and healthy relationships in more depth.

A very active pupil council genuinely influences school decision-making. Pupils meet with leaders regularly to discuss issues and suggest improvements, for example to the lunchtime food offer.

The trust and the local governing body know the school well.

They share school leaders' clarity of vision and ambition for all pupils at the school. Staff feel valued and recognise that leaders take their workload into account. They benefit from high-quality training and support.

Staff are proud to work in the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Sometimes, the teaching activities selected do not help pupils progress through the curriculum.

This means that some pupils do not cover all the curriculum as intended and have gaps in their knowledge. Leaders should continue to develop pedagogy to ensure that teaching activities selected are suited to pupils' needs and previous learning. Sometimes, in corridors and at social times, pupils do not regulate their own behaviour.

This means that sometimes there is boisterous behaviour in corridors and in play spaces. The school should ensure that its high expectations of behaviour are met beyond the classroom so that corridors and social spaces are calm, orderly and purposeful.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in June 2015.