Daubeney Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Daubeney Academy is an inclusive school where all pupils access purposeful lessons and development opportunities. There is ambition for all pupils to succeed.

This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils have access to a curriculum that has high expectations for what they can achieve. However, some variation in the expertise of teachers means that pupils do not always learn well.

As a result, pupils achieve better in some subjects than in others.

Pupils are positive about the routines and procedures in place to encourage good behaviour. This includes the 'first class tickets' they use to record their good conduct.
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This leads to a culture of accountability and safe, calm learning environments. Pupils agree that significant behaviour incidents are now unusual. This includes the use of derogatory language and bullying.

Pupils are confident that staff take effective action to address these behaviours.

The wider curriculum offer prepares pupils well for their next steps in education and employment. This includes opportunities to develop strong values, such as celebrating diversity.

Pupils learn about different career pathways, including apprenticeships, to make informed choices about their next steps.

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

Leaders have established an ambitious and detailed curriculum. Curriculum plans ensure that lesson content progresses in a carefully considered order.

This helps pupils develop their knowledge and skills, in preparation for future learning.

Skilled teachers adapt lessons so pupils with SEND can learn successfully alongside their peers. Staff provide well-targeted help to enable these pupils to overcome the barriers they face.

There is also specific support for pupils who speak English as an additional language. Pupils at an early stage of reading receive additional lessons to help them catch up. However, some staff do not have a secure understanding of how to target support for these pupils in their subject lessons.

Leaders have identified this and are working proactively to address the training need.

In some established areas of the curriculum, teachers demonstrate secure subject expertise. They support pupils with detailed feedback that helps them make good progress.

This is exemplified in English lessons, where pupils demonstrate high levels of independence. They are empowered to make their work the best it can be. However, teachers' subject knowledge in some areas of learning is not always as secure.

This is especially true in key stage 4. This leads to inconsistency in the quality of some subject lessons. This is because teachers do not fully understand how the concepts taught build knowledge over time.

This also impacts the quality of feedback teachers give to pupils. As a result, pupils remember less in some areas of their learning.

Leaders have set out explicitly clear expectations for pupils' behaviour and conduct.

Staff, pupils, and parents acknowledge the significant positive impact this has had. A culture of good behaviour is established. This results in focused classroom environments and respectful breaktimes.

The school community is a safe place for pupils to express their views and identities. A programme of character education supports all pupils to discuss and learn about key issues that help prepare them for the future. This includes relevant topics such as equalities in the workplace.

Pupils benefit from opportunities to hear from expert visitors. This includes a visit from the local police, who explore issues of safety in the wider community. Pupils speak highly of the help provided in the school's pastoral support unit.

They also value the counselling available to support with any mental health needs.

The leadership team, including trust leaders and governors, have taken rapid and effective action to improve the school. They share a strong commitment to the pupils in the school and ambition to widen the qualification options open to them.

Leaders have an accurate understanding of the quality of education. They are taking precise action to address the remaining weaknesses in provision. Decisions made by leaders are considerate of the impact on the well-being of staff.

Governors have a wide range of expertise to fulfil their roles and responsibilities. They hold leaders to account for improvements made.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders are diligent and have made safeguarding the top priority. The work completed to keep pupils safe is a core feature of daily practice for all staff.High-quality training is given to support adults to fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities.

There are effective practices to record concerns and share relevant information. This ensures that swift and effective action is taken if a concern is raised.

Leaders have ensured that mandatory vetting checks are completed for all employees.

Pupils have confidence about the accessibility of staff, including their leaders, if they have a concern to share. They are reassured by the presence of caring staff around the school site.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Support provided for pupils at an early stage of reading is in the initial stage of development.

This means that staff in subject lessons do not always provide the specific help these pupils need. Leaders should make sure all staff understand and provide the specific help these pupils need to improve their progress in reading. ? Teachers have varied levels of subject expertise when teaching some aspects of the curriculum.

They do not present new knowledge in a way that helps pupils best remember what they have learned. Leaders must ensure that all teachers have secure subject knowledge in the curriculum areas they teach. They should ensure lessons consistently reflect the ambition set out in the planned curriculum and that pupils gain a strong body of cumulative knowledge.

• Teachers' use of assessment is not consistently effective. As a result, in some areas of the curriculum pupils do not always know what they have done well and what they need to do better. Leaders should ensure that pupils receive precise feedback across all areas of the curriculum, to help them improve their learning.

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