Ashley Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils speak passionately about their school. They demonstrate great pride when sharing information about their learning and other school activities. Pupils are aware of what it means to be a good citizen.

They understand how to be kind and treat others with respect. This is evident in the quality of relationships that exist in school, both in and out of the classroom. One pupil said, 'The kindness you give out in the world will come back to you.'



Pupils say they feel safe in school. They understand how to stay safe online. Pupils are aware of the different types of bullying.

They are in no doubt that there are adults in school who will help them i...f they have any worries. However, staff do not have an appropriate understanding of safeguarding systems and processes in school. This puts pupils' safety at risk.

All staff have high expectations for pupils' behaviour both inside and outside of the classroom. As a result, pupils behave well. There are very few incidents of disruption to learning.

Pupils are interested in their lessons and concentrate well.

Curriculum plans enable pupils to study a range of topics. However, in subjects other than English and mathematics, leaders have not ensured that skills and knowledge are sequenced carefully enough to build upon pupils' prior learning.

Consequently, pupils do not achieve as well as they should across the curriculum.

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

Leaders ensure that reading is a high priority across the school. They aim to foster in pupils, a life-long love of reading.

This begins from the moment children start school. In Nursery, children are encouraged to listen to stories. They join in with songs and rhymes.

Phonics is taught daily from Reception class. There are clear milestones in place for the sounds and words children should be able to read by the end of each term. Teachers have received recent training in the school's phonics programme.

Leaders ensure that the books children learn to read match the sounds that they know. Pupils who are not confident readers receive appropriate and timely support to help them catch up quickly. In key stage 2, pupils continue to enjoy reading.

All classrooms have a well-stocked reading area. This contains a balance of fiction and non-fiction material.

Teachers use a variety of resources to plan interesting lessons in mathematics.

There is a focus on developing mathematical knowledge. Teachers ensure that there are opportunities for pupils to revisit what they have been taught. This is helping to build pupils' knowledge over time.

Teachers use assessment regularly to identify where there may be gaps in pupils' understanding. These are then addressed through additional intervention and timely support.

The wider curriculum is less well developed.

Leaders have checked that curriculum plans match the scope of the national curriculum. However, some leaders are new to their role. They have not received sufficient training to plan the curriculum well.

In some subjects, such as personal, social, health and relationships education, staff have not thought carefully enough about the knowledge and skills that pupils should learn and when. Leaders have not provided teachers with enough guidance to help pupils learn well in all subjects. In these subjects, teachers do not check pupils' understanding effectively.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are mostly well supported. Targets in individual learning support plans identify the small steps pupils need to complete to make progress. Additional resources and interventions are well-matched to pupils' individual needs.

Pupils' progress is monitored regularly.

The early years curriculum is not well sequenced or coherently planned. Some of the equipment and resources available for children are not demanding enough.

This restricts opportunities for children to learn quickly and to practise newly acquired skills with growing independence.

Across the school, warm relationships are evident between adults and pupils. There are a range of rewards available to promote pupils' positive behaviour.

Staff quickly deal with any incidents of poor behaviour. Additional support is provided for those pupils who need help to improve their behaviour.

Governors know what the school does well and what needs to improve.

They are committed to securing ongoing improvements. Governors have recently reviewed their governance arrangements. They possess a range of skills necessary to hold leaders to account.

However, they have not checked robustly enough the safeguarding procedures in school.

Staff say that they are well-supported by leaders. They feel that leaders are considerate of their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

The school's arrangements for safeguarding pupils are not good enough. This is because leaders and governors do not check well enough that safeguarding arrangements are secure.

Staff have not completed the necessary safeguarding training. They are unable to recall key safeguarding messages. As a result, when concerns are raised, staff are not clear enough about what to do.

This means not all concerns are raised and dealt with. Despite this, the school's designated leaders work proactively with outside agencies to support pupils when they require additional help and support.

Governors are not fully aware of their statutory responsibilities to keep children safe.

At the time of the inspection the single central record was not fully compliant because checks had not been fully recorded. However, all necessary recruitment checks are in place when new staff are appointed.

Through the curriculum, pupils learn how to keep themselves safe both off and online.

They are aware of potential risks in the local community and are confident about what to do if they notice something is wrong.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Staff have not completed the necessary safeguarding training. As a result, staff are not clear enough about the school's safeguarding processes.

Leaders should immediately strengthen safeguarding arrangements by ensuring all policies and procedures, including risk assessments, are reviewed, updated as appropriate, and fully implemented and understood by all staff. Leaders should also provide updated training on latest guidance and legislation on a regular basis. ? Most curriculum plans do not identify what pupils should learn and when.

Staff are not clear how pupils build their knowledge over time in foundation subjects. Learning is not sequenced in enough detail to ensure pupils learn the crucial content in a logical way. Leaders need to identify the crucial knowledge, skills and vocabulary pupils should learn in each subject and ensure that teachers use assessment well to check that pupils remember what they have been taught.

• Curriculum plans in subjects other than early reading and mathematics do not include what children will learn in the early years foundation stage (EYFS). Subject leaders do not sufficiently understand how the EYFS curriculum informs what pupils learn in later years. Leaders should ensure that the foundations of knowledge for the next stage of learning are established in the early years.

• Several curriculum leaders are new to their roles. As a result, some curriculum leaders do not have sufficient knowledge of how to develop, review and evaluate the quality of their curriculum subjects. Senior leaders need to build curriculum leaders' knowledge and understanding of subject and curriculum development.

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