Campsmount Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel happy and safe at this rapidly improving school. A new culture of respect, tolerance and ambition has been established.

Pupils consistently behave well and show pride in their appearance and in their work. Pupils have good relationships with staff, and they are keen to learn. Bullying is rare and dealt with swiftly if it occurs.

Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe and about local themes such as road safety. Pupils are taught to think critically through 'aspire' sessions and to use their voice to influence others. Sixth-form students play an active role in school leadership and support younger pupils in the school.

Pupils are taught to ha...ve high expectations. They are taught a well-planned curriculum that prepares them for life in modern Britain. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported to study the same curriculum as their peers.

Parts of the school curriculum are new, however, and the impact of more recent curriculum developments has yet to be fully realised through published examination results. Most pupils attend regularly, but some do not, and this hinders their progress.

Pupils are benefitting from the new leadership at the school and the investments that the trust has provided.

They receive a good quality of education.

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

The school offers a curriculum that is ambitious and allows pupils to learn a broad range of knowledge and skills. Teachers use a range of teaching and learning strategies to help pupils know and remember more.

For example, pupils are asked to recall previous learning through 'activate' tasks and develop their confidence to discuss ideas through 'turn and talk' activities.

The school has ambition for all pupils to achieve well. Teachers accurately identify the progress that pupils are making and what is needed for them to improve.

For example, 'live marking' is well used during lessons to provide rapid feedback to pupils. The school identifies the needs of pupils who require additional support. Teachers act on this information to adapt lessons.

This ensures that all pupils, including those with SEND, can learn the same curriculum.

Reading is prioritised. The school has made progress with developing a reading culture.

There has been significant investment in the school library and books that are available to pupils. A range of strategies and initiatives have been used to promote reading, including 'drop everything and read' days and school-wide events that celebrate authors. The school recognises that the support provided for the weakest readers is not yet as comprehensive as it needs to be.

Leaders are very aware that some pupils have not made enough academic progress in recent years. However, they have comprehensively developed the curriculum to address this issue. Leaders have also taken steps to ensure that more pupils study the English Baccalaureate set of subjects.

The behaviour of pupils in lessons and around the school is much improved. Pupils are polite, courteous, well presented and show respect to adults and to each other. Pupils say that bullying hardly ever happens.

Pupils also say that teachers now deal with any behavioural issues quickly. New behavioural policies have brought about a positive cultural change at the school. However, the number of disadvantaged pupils who have been suspended remains high and needs to reduce.

Some pupils do not attend regularly enough. New strategies introduced by the school are having impact. Attendance is improving overall.

However, attendance is not improving as rapidly for disadvantaged pupils. The school is aware of this and has planned strategies to address this issue.

The school has a comprehensive personal development curriculum.

Pupils receive 'aspire' and 'life skills' sessions where they learn to think critically about topical issues. They also learn to develop their characters by considering different religious faiths, cultures and themes related to health and the environment. Pupils have opportunities to meet with employers during careers events and work experience.

Pupils receive mock interviews to build their confidence and skills. Pupils are taught about local issues such as road safety. They have influenced the local council to review the speed limits outside the school.

The school has redeveloped the provision for sixth-form students. The quality of this provision is much improved since the previous inspection in 2022. The school has worked in partnership with another school in the trust to increase the number of courses that are available to study.

Relationships between staff and students in the sixth form are very strong. Students receive regular support through a tutorial programme. This helps them to make career choices and learn about relevant topics such as car safety and contraception.

Students play an active role in the school leadership council. They participate in a range of extra-curricular activities.

Leaders have made transformative changes to the school since the last inspection.

A culture of tolerance, respect and high expectation has been established. Staff are proud to work at the school. They feel well supported in their training and through sensible approaches to workload.

There is a sense of purpose and teamwork among staff, which has led to rapid change and improvement. Governors and trustees have a thorough understanding of the school. They work together effectively to provide direction and challenge to school leaders.

The trust has made significant investments to support the school and increase the capacity to improve further.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Intervention and support for pupils who are weaker readers does not happen frequently enough and is limited in scale.

This means that some pupils struggle to access parts of the curriculum. It also impacts on the progress they make. Leaders, including those from the trust, should ensure that there is capacity within the school to provide the intervention that is needed to ensure that the weakest readers rapidly improve their ability to read.

• Some pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged, do not attend the school regularly enough. As a result, these pupils miss too many lessons and do not make enough progress. The school should continue to employ strategies that build relationships with families and address rates of poor attendance.

• The number of disadvantaged pupils who are suspended from school is not reducing quickly enough. This means that some of the more vulnerable pupils miss too many lessons and opportunities to develop their character. The school should continue to develop positive attitudes and behaviour among all pupils and deploy strategies to reduce the number of disadvantaged pupils who are suspended.