Endeavour Academy Durham

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Endeavour Academy Durham continues to be a good school.

The headteacher of this school is Kerrie Whelan.

This school is part of Apollo Schools Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Margaret Saxton.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils thrive socially and emotionally in Endeavour Academy.

They are taught the importance of manners and respect. They learn how their behaviour can affect others. Over time, pupils become increasingly reflective in this nurturing environment.

They are proud to explain how the school has helped them to become ...a better person.

Pupils appreciate the calm and friendly approach of all the staff around them. The academy's belief that 'sometimes all we need is a fresh start' is lived out by everyone.

Pupils trust the adults they work with to treat them fairly. They also know staff will teach them how to stay safe in the wider world. When pupils find things difficult, staff support them with relentless positivity.

Due to the high-quality relationships in the school, pupils achieve well across the curriculum. They enjoy a well-designed curriculum that meets their needs. Pupils leave the school with qualifications in a range of academic subjects, including English and mathematics.

They also gain accreditation in vocational subjects, such as hospitality.

Every pupil who attends the school knows what they are going to do when they leave. This is because pupils enjoy extensive opportunities to prepare them for their next steps.

Staff support pupils with choosing courses, apprenticeships and post-16 providers that best meet their needs. Pupils are also taught how to travel independently to their varied destinations.

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

Endeavour Academy places equal importance on a high-quality education and excellent pastoral care.

The school has designed a detailed and well-sequenced curriculum in core subject areas. All pupils access this ambitious curriculum. The school is proud to teach pupils citizenship as part of this core offer.

In 'active citizenship', pupils carry out ambitious projects. They plan interviews and research to support their work. Recently, pupils' project work influenced the teacher training offered by a local university.

Pupils won an award for this project. Many pupils arrive at the school with high levels of anxiety. They lack confidence due to missed learning in previous settings.

The skilful blend of learning and care ensures pupils reach ambitious goals.

The school increasingly places a high priority on reading. An exciting new reading space and book vending machine are now in place.

The school carries out detailed assessments of pupils' reading ability on entry. This highlights any pupils who need additional support. Well-trained staff teach reading interventions to these pupils.

It helps them catch up with their peers. However, some pupils' literacy is a barrier to achievement across the curriculum. They often have the required subject knowledge but struggle to interpret longer questions.

This limits their achievement across a range of subjects.

The school has a positive impact on pupils' attendance over time. A high percentage of pupils join the school with historically low attendance.

The school supports pupils and families to remove the barriers to positive attendance. This work often has a significant impact. The appointment of a family liaison worker has led to further improvements.

High-quality pastoral care is everyone's business at Endeavour Academy. Every adult in the school models positive attitudes and self-care. Pupils see this and replicate it.

For pupils who struggle socially or mentally, thoughtful and timely interventions help them improve rapidly. Pupils enjoy weekly 'ologies' lessons. These lessons teach them about restorative practice and how to use this to repair friendships when things go wrong.

Pupils learn about keeping themselves safe online and offline. In addition, all pupils undertake a mental health awareness qualification.

Across the curriculum, pupils develop and celebrate important skills.

These include creativity, speaking, problem-solving and teamwork. Pupils earn badges for these skills. This supports the school's embedded focus on employability and pupils' other next steps.

Pupils become increasingly confident and articulate. This helps them leave the safety of the school and move into new environments.

Governors, trustees, school leaders and the wider staff unite in their goals.

They ensure a positive culture of success runs through the school. Leaders prioritise the well-being and workload of staff. Staff feel valued.

They say they are part of a team and know their work makes a difference. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. One parent represented the views of many.

They described the school as 'transformational' for pupils.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some pupils lack the confidence and skills to interpret longer written questions in lessons and assessments effectively.

This can be a barrier to pupils' achievement. The school should continue to improve its approach to supporting literacy and reading across the curriculum.

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 an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

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

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 2018.

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