Cleethorpes Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has undergone a significant period of change, including in leadership roles. New leaders are making rapid, and necessary, improvements to the school. The impact of these changes is already evident through the school's raised expectations, pupils' improving behaviour and increased staff morale.

These are recognised and valued by pupils, their families and staff. Despite this, there remains further work to do to ensure that all pupils receive a consistently high-quality education and achieve well.

Pupils are supported and cared for by staff at the school.

Changes such as the highly positive start of the day routines are tangible indicators of the imp...roved culture in the school. Pupils and staff greet each other warmly as they enter the school. This is reinforced by tutors who provide effective pastoral support to pupils.

Pupils describe the school community as 'inclusive'. As a result, pupils feel safe and are well-prepared for learning.

Many pupils enjoy various clubs and activities that the school offers, such as learning British sign language or cooking club.

Pupils are consulted on their interests and what clubs they would like. As a result, attendance to such activities is strong.

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

The school has reviewed and strengthened the curriculum across many subjects.

These improved curriculums sequence learning more carefully and are more ambitious than what pupils have previously studied. Staff continue to receive training in how to teach these curriculums well. Teachers are beginning to apply this training in their lessons.

However, improvements are still at a relatively early stage. Over time, teaching has not supported pupils to develop a strong understanding of the curriculum. Many pupils continue to have gaps in their learning that are still to be addressed.

As a result, these pupils struggle to understand new concepts that build on this insecure prior knowledge.

Pupils have inconsistent experiences in lessons. When pupils learn most effectively, teachers explain new content clearly.

They use questioning and other strategies effectively to check on what pupils know. Teachers provide pupils with feedback that helps pupils to improve their work. However, this is not consistently pupils' experience.

For example, sometimes, teachers do not adjust their teaching to reflect what pupils know and to address misconceptions effectively.

The school has rapidly improved many aspects of its support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers receive clear information about how to support pupils with SEND in lessons.

There is ongoing training to support staff to use this consistently well.

The school has recently updated how it supports pupils in the early stages of learning to read. It identifies pupils who need support when they join the school in Year 7.

Younger pupils who need it receive additional help that strengthens their reading knowledge.However, support for older pupils who are not fluent readers is limited. Consequently, these pupils struggle to access the school's curriculum fully.

The school has raised its expectations of pupils' behaviour and attendance. Staff and pupils have a clear understanding of these expectations. Adults support pupils to overcome barriers that prevent them from reaching these.

As a result, pupils' behaviour in lessons and at social times is positive and fewer pupils are regularly absent from school.

The school provides a comprehensive careers programme during personal, social health education lessons. Pupils benefit from talks by employers and local colleges that help them to make informed choices when they leave school.

Pupils also understand other important issues such as maintaining positive mental health or how to keep themselves safe online.

Those with responsibility for governance have a secure understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. They have effectively challenged the school to improve areas such as outcomes for pupils and standards of behaviour.

There is clear impact from this work. For example, staff report significantly improved support from leaders. Leaders recognise that there is more to do.

Many improvements across the school are new. Leaders are yet to fully evaluate the impact of the changes that they have made on pupils' education.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Over time, teaching has not supported pupils to gain a secure knowledge of the curriculum. This makes it difficult for these pupils to access new learning and to connect knowledge to what they have been taught previously. These pupils make less progress through the curriculum than they are able.

The school should ensure that teaching supports pupils to remember the most important knowledge consistently. ? The school's reading strategy is early in its implementation. Support for pupils who are in the early stages of learning to read is limited.

These pupils struggle to access the school's curriculum fully. The school should develop and embed its curriculum to ensure that all pupils who need additional support to read fluently, receive it. ? The school has implemented several new strategies to improve pupils' education.

Some of these are still embedding, and the school is yet to fully evaluate their impact. This limits the ability of the school, and those with responsibility for governance, to make further improvements. The school should ensure that it consistently checks the impact of changes that it makes and uses this information to inform future improvement actions.