Endike Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are experiencing an increasingly ambitious curriculum.

The school and the trust have high expectations for what pupils can achieve in their learning. However, these expectations are not fully realised.The school has high expectations for pupils' behaviour.

Pupils understand the rewards and sanctions. They show respect and can articulate the things they like. The school ensures that in lessons, adults manage pupils' behaviour well.

However, behaviour routines are not fully established. Some pupils struggle to manage their behaviour when they think an adult is not watching.The school provides extra-curricular clubs that pupils enjoy.

Pupils part...icularly appreciate participating in trust-wide sporting activities. The school supports pupils' resilience, self-esteem and confidence. For example, staff offer personalised sessions to advise pupils how to stay mentally healthy.

Pupils feel safe in the classroom. However, the view of some pupils is that they feel less safe at playtime.Pupils learn about important aspects of safety, such as how to stay safe on the roads as pedestrians or cyclists.

However, some pupils have a limited understanding of staying safe online and cyber-bullying.

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

The school has adopted the trust's purposeful and well-designed curriculum. The curriculum is sequenced and progressive from early years to Year 6.

The curriculum is ambitious, including for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, the delivery of the curriculum is variable across subjects. As a result, pupils do not learn consistently well in all areas.

The school prioritises reading. It uses a phonics programme and a whole-school approach to reading comprehension. This programme is being used with greater consistency than in previous years when pupils' achievement was much weaker, particularly at key stage 2.

The school regularly checks pupils' phonics knowledge. It uses this information to ensure that pupils who need support with their reading receive daily tutoring to keep up. Pupils' reading books match the sounds they know.

Pupils are enthusiastic about reading. They talk knowledgeably about their favourite books and authors.

Adults help pupils learn mathematical concepts with approaches such as breaking learning into smaller steps.

Pupils can make links between their prior and current learning. For example, pupils use rhymes to help them recall their multiplication tables. Pupils' mathematical fluency, where they use their skills to know the best way to solve a problem, is variable.

Staff receive training from the trust, including a focus on developing pupils' fluency. However, this training has not had sufficient impact to address gaps in knowledge for pupils in Years 5 and 6.

Pupils with SEND are well supported.

They access an ambitious curriculum. Adults adapt their teaching to suit individual needs. Pupils with SEND are carefully tracked and receive additional support to make progress and achieve success.

Since May 2024, the school has accelerated its focus on improving attendance. The school analyses attendance patterns weekly. It has introduced several incentives to encourage good attendance, such as rewards, certificates, competitions and quizzes.

These strategies are at an early stage and their impact is not fully embedded.

In early years, the school has a broad and balanced curriculum for children from two-years-old. There is a sharp focus on developing children's communication skills.

Adults use symbols to help some children communicate. Children actively engage in their own play. They display sustained concentration in a calm and purposeful setting.

Children share resources and are respectful to each other. The early years staff ensure that children understand the school's rules and routines and are ready for Year 1.

There is variation in how well pupils learn about aspects of life in modern Britain.

Pupils can name different faiths and cultures but lack a deeper understanding of the commonalities shared by religions. Although the school's curriculum includes units about topics such as protected characteristics, pupils' understanding of British values and diverse cultures is superficial.

The school has managed recent staffing and curriculum changes with sensitivity, taking into consideration staff workload and well-being.

Many subject leaders new to their role are keen to develop their areas further.

The trust recognises that the school is underperforming. It has a clear oversight of the strengths and areas for improvement.

Recent staffing instability has caused concern for some parents and carers. The school recognises the need to strengthen relationships with families.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There are inconsistencies in the way the school implements the trust's intended curriculum. This means the outcomes for pupils over time have been consistently below national expectations. The school should ensure that the curriculum is better implemented so that pupils know more and remember more.

• The school's behaviour expectations are not consistently followed by pupils. As a result, some pupils do not feel safe at unstructured times. The school should ensure that the high expectations for behaviour are followed in and out of the classroom.

Some aspects of pupils' personal development are less developed than others. This means some pupils' knowledge of topics such as British values, protected characteristics and world religions is not as deep as it could be. The school should ensure that it better develops pupils' understanding in these areas.

• Some subject leaders are new to role. They do not have a deep understanding of the strengths and areas for improvement in their subject. The school should ensure that new subject leaders receive support and guidance to lead and develop their curriculum responsibility effectively.

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