Benjamin Britten Academy of Music and Mathematics

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school The headmaster's clear, unwavering vision focuses very effectively on supporting pupils' achievements, both in and out of the classroom. Staff implement the vision very well. As a result, the quality of education provided to pupils has improved significantly.

Leadership is outstanding. Leaders know what they do well, but they concentrate their energies on what they could still do better. New leaders are very well supported.

Consequently, the capacity of leaders to continue to improve the school is high. Governors have a clear and very accurate view of the school's strengths. They provide leaders with effective support and challenge that e...nsure that the school continues to improve at a rapid pace.

Staff are proud to work at the school and are very grateful for the many training and development opportunities that are open to them. Staff morale is high. The overall progress that pupils make has improved considerably.

In 2018, pupils' overall progress was in line with that of pupils with similar starting points nationally. Pupils make particularly strong progress in mathematics. Pupils are proud of their school and its ethos.

They are welcoming, caring and respectful. Pupils behave well. Leaders and governors ensure that the school's curriculum is a key strength.

Pupils have access to a very effective range of curricular and extra-curricular activities. Leaders ensure that pupils are well looked after and that they are kept safe. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school.

Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. Their additional funding is used effectively to ensure that they make strong and increasingly better progress. Although the pupil premium grant has been used to support significant improvements in pupils' progress, the impact of different initiatives is not reviewed closely enough.

The overall quality of teaching is good, and teachers are well supported by the team of teaching assistants. However, teachers' whole-class questioning does not consistently deepen pupils' knowledge and understanding. Leaders' actions have improved pupils' progress in science.

However, their progress in science is still not as strong as it is in other subjects. Progress in some technology subjects is not improving quickly enough.

Information about this school

This is the school's first inspection since it joined the Hartismere Family of Schools in May 2016.

Responsibility for the school's performance lies with the Hartismere Family of Schools trust board. The trust board currently acts as the school's local governing body. The trust has longer-term plans to establish local representation at the school through the establishment of new local governing body.

There are currently four schools within the trust. The school is a smaller than average-sized secondary school. The proportion of pupils who receive SEN support is above average.

The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium or who have an education, health and care plan is average. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below average. The school does not use alternative education providers.