Farringdon Community Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at Farringdon Community Academy. They feel safe and have adults in school that they trust. Pupils do not feel that bullying is an issue here.

They confirm that they get clear messages about bullying from staff. They are confident that teachers would take any incidents of bullying seriously.

Most pupils behave well in lessons and around school.

Generally, there are respectful relationships between pupils and staff. There are a minority of pupils who do not behave as well as they should. Sometimes lessons are disrupted by these pupils' behaviour.

Not all staff have the same high expectations for how pupils should behave. When pupils do... not make the right choices, there are not clear systems in place to help them improve their behaviour.

The school is in a period of transition.

There have been recent changes in leadership. New trust leadership now have an accurate view of the school's priorities. They are raising expectations and challenging staff to do even better.

Some school leaders are ambitious for what pupils can achieve and have high expectations of their conduct. They are keen to provide pupils with the best life chances. These high standards are not consistently shared across the school.

Currently, the quality of education on offer at school is not good enough. Pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

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

Leaders have designed a curriculum that is broad and ambitious at key stage 3 and well matched to pupils at key stage 4.

For example, leaders introduced engineering as an option at key stage 4 to make sure that pupils are well prepared for the local job market. In some subjects, leaders have thought carefully about what pupils will learn. They have ensured that the content they will teach is ambitious and builds securely on what pupils will already know.

They have organised their curriculum carefully. This is not the case in all subjects. In addition, some curriculum planning does not take into account what pupils have learned at key stage 2.

Some teachers deliver the curriculum more effectively than others. In some lessons, teachers deliver content clearly. They check carefully what pupils understand through effective questioning.

Recap and retrieval activities help pupils to remember what they have already learned. Some pupils are moving through the curriculum swiftly. This is not always the case.

In some lessons, the activities that pupils complete are not well matched to what teachers want them to learn. Sometimes teachers are not checking pupils' understanding before moving on.

Teachers are well informed about how to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Teachers ensure that these pupils can access the curriculum alongside their peers. Pupils with a range of SEND benefit from an inclusive environment. Older pupils who attend the specially resourced provision for pupils with autism spectrum disorder (specially resourced provision) are well prepared for taking their next steps through a specially designed curriculum.

Pupils with SEND broadly achieve well. This is not the case for disadvantaged pupils. There is not a clear strategy in place for how these pupils are supported to achieve their potential.

Leaders have prioritised literacy. Pupils who find reading difficult are provided with regular support to help them catch up quickly. All pupils at key stage 3 have regular reading lessons to build their reading stamina.

Leaders have considered how to build pupils' vocabulary across subject areas.

Leaders have thought carefully about how to develop pupils beyond their academic subjects. Year 11 pupils appreciate the information and advice they are given about careers.

All pupils learn about a range of topics that prepare them to be responsible citizens. They learn how to keep themselves safe, online and in the community. Pupils agree that school is a respectful environment.

They do not feel that they would be victimised for being different. There is a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities on offer but many pupils do not take advantage of these. This is especially the case for disadvantaged pupils.

Over time, leaders have not effectively evaluated the impact of systems in place across the school. Some staff have previously raised workload and support from leadership as an issue. Trustees now have a clear vision for how to move the school forward.

Staff feel proud to work at this school. They are optimistic about forthcoming changes.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Pupils feel safe in school. They trust the adults in school to help them. Staff are clear about what signs would raise concerns about pupils' well-being.

They know how to report any concerns they have and do so regularly. Logs show that staff pay close attention to pupils' well-being.

Leaders act on any concerns swiftly.

They keep detailed records of all actions taken to keep pupils safe. They work with a range of external agencies to ensure that pupils and families get the support they need. Leaders are persistent in making sure that this support is received.

Leaders are meticulous in ensuring that vulnerable pupils are carefully monitored.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subject areas, the curriculum is not ambitious or precise enough about what pupils will learn. This means that pupils are not achieving well enough.

Leaders should ensure that all curriculum thinking is suitably ambitious and carefully organised. There is variability in how effectively the curriculum is being delivered across the school. Some activities do not focus closely on what teachers want pupils to learn.

Some teachers do not systematically check what pupils know and understand. This means that gaps in knowledge are sometimes not identified. Leaders should ensure that teaching is of consistently high quality across the school.

• Disadvantaged pupils do not achieve as well as their peers. Most of these pupils do not benefit from the wider enrichment opportunities that are in place in school. Leaders should ensure that there are effective strategies in place to ensure that disadvantaged pupils achieve well and are engaged with the wider life of the school.

• Some teachers do not have high enough expectations of pupils' conduct. They do not apply the behaviour policy consistently. This leads to perceptions of unfairness from pupils.

Additionally, some aspects of the behaviour policy lack clarity. Leaders should ensure that the behaviour policy is clear and consistently applied. ? Some policies and systems in school are not clear or not precise enough, notably the behaviour policy and departmental monitoring systems.

Leaders are not rigorously monitoring the impact of systems in place. This is having an impact on standards of behaviour and the quality of education. Leaders should ensure that there is clarity in systems and sufficient rigour in the evaluation of these.