Aylward Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Aylward Academy continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. The school's motto 'find your remarkable' is upheld by staff and pupils.

Leaders encourage pupils to be 'big hearted'. This value is realised through the equality ambassadors. These pupils champion equality and look out for others.

Pupils regularly learn about 'amazing people' in society to inspire them to achieve their best. For example, pupils learned about Mary Seacole and Katherine Johnson.

Leaders encourage pupils to have a voice.

The student union is active. They regularly ask pupils how they could improve practice in school. Leaders ...want pupils to have a personal view on the curriculum and topical issues.

Leaders ask pupils to 'be the change you want to see'. Leaders have high expectations of pupils. These expectations are evident as you walk around the school.

Pupils feel safe and understand how to behave well in lessons. Pupils and teachers are clear on what the expectations are. Parents and carers speak positively about teachers and how they help pupils.

Pupils describe the school as being a 'community'. They value the friendships that are formed here. Pupils said that bullying was rare.

Bullying ambassadors are available to support pupils.

Extra-curricular learning opportunities extend the curriculum. Leaders have offered a range of clubs, from gardening club to chess club

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

Pupils described the school as 'ambitious'.

This ambition was seen in the work that has gone into developing the curriculum offer since the last inspection. Governors outlined the work on curriculum plans and the support that the trust had provided.

Curriculum leaders plan lessons so that knowledge is delivered in stages, for example when learning about clothes in Spanish.

Pupils first learn how to correctly use the verb 'to wear' and then add words to describe the colour of the clothes. In the sixth form, in a Turkish lesson, pupils received helpful feedback after an assessment which helped them to make improvements to their work. This staged approach helps pupils to build their knowledge in many subjects.

Teachers make sure that if pupils do not understand key content in a lesson they quickly support pupils to overcome the problem. In French, teachers corrected the misunderstanding of 'magasins' so that pupils could correctly remember key vocabulary. In science, teachers use questions in the lesson to redirect teaching and teach key ideas again, if needed.

This helps pupils to be clear about knowledge learned in subjects. Pupils are achieving well in many subjects.

Teachers are knowledgeable about the subjects they teach.

They have additional support from the subject specialists in the trust. All teachers provide opportunities for pupils to recall and revisit previous learning at the start of the lesson through 'do now' tasks. In English, pupils could recall key concepts like 'socialism' and 'capitalism' correctly.

This knowledge helped them to understand the play 'An Inspector Calls' by J B Priestley. Teachers plan opportunities for pupils to go over key knowledge so that it is embedded, and pupils will remember it. In science, pupils were encouraged to remember and use 'photosynthesis'.

Pupils' work showed that this had been learned previously. However, pupils in key stage 3 could not recall information from previous learning as easily. In history, pupils struggled to see how their previous learning about the First World War could help them to understand new learning about the Second World War.

Pupils behave well in lessons and are engaged with their learning. Teachers encourage pupils to use academic vocabulary. In English lessons, pupils were correctly using words like 'hierarchy' and 'misogyny'.

The focus on vocabulary supports pupils who speak English as an additional language. Pupils confidently used subject-specific vocabulary across lessons. Leaders encourage all pupils to read widely and often.

Pupils have access to an electronic library of books that is appropriate to age and stage of reading.

Pupils with special educational needs and or/disabilities (SEND) access the same curriculum as their peers. Pupils with SEND said they were encouraged to be 'independent' by their teachers.

They valued the support they received to help them become more independent. 'The Hub' provides a range of individual interventions for pupils with SEND in school to support their learning.

Leaders encourage leadership opportunities for sixth-form pupils.

The Year 12 gender ambassadors led an assembly on powerful women in science to their peers. Leaders provide regular opportunities for pupils to learn about contemporary issues. Pupils took part in a tutor time activity on tackling racism in football.

Leaders have mapped out where the relationships and sex education curriculum is further embedded in different subjects across the school. For example, in English, pupils learn about discrimination. Mental health is a priority.

Leaders and governors support the well-being of staff and pupils. Staff describe their subject teams as a 'family'. Teaching staff recognise the work that leaders have put into reducing workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff receive regular training on safeguarding. Staff described the steps they would take in school to identify and act on any concerns about a child.

Leaders regularly gather pupils' views about their safety. They act quickly if any concerns are raised. Pupils knew who to talk to if they were worried about themselves or their friends.

Leaders are acutely aware of local contextual challenges. For example, pupils receive timely training on the risks of county lines and issues around consent and sexual harassment. Pupils know how to stay safe online.

Leaders work with external agencies to set up safe spots in the local community to keep pupils safe when they are not in school. The trust supports the school with safeguarding procedures.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• While the curriculum in key stages 4 and 5 is planned so that pupils can make links to previous learning, this is not yet the case for all subjects in key stage 3.

This means that pupils do not have opportunities to develop a deep knowledge across the curriculum in key stage 3. Leaders should make sure that the key stage 3 curriculum is well planned so that pupils can make links between knowledge previously learned and new knowledge.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 a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that a good school could now be better than good, or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 6 November 2012.