Hanham Woods Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Hanham Woods Academy has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.The Principal of this school is Stephen O'Callaghan.

This school is part of Cabot Learning Federation, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Steve Taylor, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Yvonne Beach.

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high aspirations of what all pupils can achieve.

Pupils are encouraged to 'Dream Big' about their futures. The school makes sure that pupils have the information they need to make informed decisions a...bout their next steps. Pupils move on to further education or employment that matches their ambitions.

Pupils know that they can talk to an adult if they have any worries. Pupils are confident that staff will provide high-quality support if they need help. This helps pupils to feel safe and cared for at school.

Pupils understand how the school expects them to behave. If pupils do not meet the school's expectations, staff take prompt action. As a result, the school is calm and orderly.

However, a minority of pupils do not behave as well as expected in class and sometimes they miss important learning.

Pupils learn about the importance of tolerance and respect for those from different backgrounds to them. For instance, pupils enjoyed a recent event that celebrated the diversity of cultures that pupils and staff come from.

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

In recent years, pupils have typically achieved well. However, the school's published outcomes in 2024 were below national averages. This is not typical for the school and is not reflected in the quality of education pupils receive currently.

Staff use their strong subject knowledge to explain new content clearly. The work they give to pupils is well matched to the ambitious curriculum that the school has designed. However, sometimes teaching activities do not help pupils to remember what they have learned before.

At times pupils' misconceptions are not corrected swiftly enough. This means that pupils cannot build on their previous knowledge well enough and that they have gaps in their recall.

High quality advice and training enables staff to identify and provide effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Consequently, most pupils with SEND learn the same curriculum as their peers effectively.

The school has prioritised reading. Younger pupils get support to use the library as part of the curriculum.

The guided reading programme exposes pupils to ambitious texts and ensures they read often. There is a strong focus on literacy across all areas of the curriculum. Those who have fallen behind with reading are identified and get support to catch up.

Attendance is a high priority for the school. Staff have a good understanding of the reasons why pupils are absent. Key staff have built positive relationships with families to support pupils to attend more often.

Pupils' attendance has improved. However, some pupils continue to be absent from school too often. This prevents them from achieving as well as they could due to gaps in their knowledge.

The school has a comprehensive approach to preparing pupils for life beyond school. There is a suitable curriculum for teaching pupils about all aspects personal, social and health education. The school uses what it knows about emerging local and national potential risks to adapt the curriculum.

This helps pupils to understand how to stay safe, including when online.

Leaders have an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and priorities for development. For instance, they have made sure they have the right staff in place to improve pupils' attendance.

Those responsible for governance have the expertise they need to support and challenge the school.

The school is creating opportunities for parents to increase their understanding of how their children are supported. For instance, parents are welcomed to tours during the school day.

However, a significant minority of parents lack confidence in the way that the school communicates with them.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Teaching does not consistently develop pupils recall of their learning well enough.

This means that some pupils do not remember what they have been taught before and so cannot build on this learning. The trust should ensure that pupils consistently know and remember more of the curriculum. ? Some pupils miss curriculum time because they do not attend well enough.

Others miss curriculum time because they are removed from lessons if they do not behave well. As a result, these pupils do not progress as well as they could through the curriculum. The trust should ensure that pupils attend regularly and continue to improve their behaviour in class so that they experience the full curriculum.

• Of those parents who gave their views of the school during the inspection, some are not satisfied with the way that the school deals with concerns they raise. Some parents do not have confidence that issues they raise will be resolved. The school needs to improve communication with parents so that parents know that their concerns have been dealt with.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 for overall effectiveness in November 2019.

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