Hans Price Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Hans Price Academy continues to be a good school.

The executive principal of this school is Tony Searle. 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 Paul Olomolaiye.

What is it like to attend this school?

A sense of 'belonging' is at the heart of Hans Price Academy's ethos. The school has high expectations for its pupils. These go hand in hand with warm relationships.

Staff treat every pupil as an individual. Pupils are encouraged to take responsibility and develop resilie...nce. Pupils feel safe and well cared for in the 'learning families' within the school's four 'colleges'.

The school offers an ambitious curriculum. In the majority of areas, pupils learn effectively and achieve well, including in key stage 4 qualifications. Pupils have many opportunities to read.

Reading is celebrated alongside sports, charity and contributions to the school community. The school's 'ready to learn' policy underpins its unique culture. It supports pupils to make the right choices.

Pupils are regularly rewarded for demonstrating the school's values.

Pupils enjoy a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, traditional and modern sports, and activities related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The school ensures that these opportunities are available to all pupils.

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

The school's curriculum is carefully designed. The school ensures that pupils build on and regularly revisit important knowledge. Teachers are subject experts and benefit from professional development with other schools in the trust.

The school and trust regularly review how well the curriculum is being taught. Staff feel supported to strengthen their teaching. This means most pupils learn effectively.

This is reflected in the school's strong published outcomes in most areas. Pupils take pride in their work and talk enthusiastically about what they are learning, making links with what they have learned previously.

In a few subjects, pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, achieve less well.

In these subjects, teachers do not always check all pupils' understanding before introducing new content. Sometimes, this is because knowledge is not sufficiently broken down for pupils to learn successfully. While the full suite of subjects in the English Baccalaureate is offered to all pupils, the entry level remains low.

The school prioritises reading. All younger pupils have reading lessons alongside their English lessons, so staff can quickly identify gaps. This includes identification of special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) so that pupils who need extra help with reading receive appropriate support.

The school supports pupils with a range of SEND effectively. As with much of the school's work, this is highly personalised and reviewed regularly. This means that pupils receive the right help at the right time.

There are effective systems in place to support good behaviour. Pupils reflect on and respond to behaviour that does not meet the school's high expectations. The school supports these pupils through its inclusive pastoral system.

The school does not compromise on maintaining a calm and orderly environment in which pupils can learn. Bullying is rare, and pupils have confidence in staff to help them resolve issues when they do arise.

Pupils' wider development is an important part of the school's ethos.

Staff ensure that the school is a place where pupils want to be. When pupils are struggling to attend, the school puts in place appropriate additional support. The majority of pupils attend regularly.

They enjoy a wide variety of opportunities to participate in clubs and activities that contribute to 'college cups'. An effective transition from primary school into Year 7 is a strength of the school's wider offer.

Pupils learn from a strong personal, social and health education curriculum.

They remember important messages about healthy relationships and how to look after themselves physically and mentally. The vast majority of pupils describe their school as respectful and tolerant. All pupils have age-appropriate opportunities to meet employers, attend careers fairs and visit universities.

The school ensures that its careers programme raises pupils' aspirations. This contributes to the positive culture the school has developed over a number of years.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Assessment is not used effectively in some areas of the curriculum. Teachers do not always check that pupils have understood before they introduce new content. This means that some pupils, especially those who are disadvantaged, are not ready for subsequent learning and therefore fall behind.

They do not achieve well in these subjects. The trust should ensure that assessment is effective so that all pupils build their knowledge successfully and achieve well.

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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2018.