Haywood Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Haywood Academy, and students in the school's sixth form, enjoy coming to school. They feel part of a caring community that supports them to do as well as they can. Pupils are very appreciative of the many and varied experiences and opportunities that help them to prepare for their next steps.

Teachers have high expectations of how and what pupils and students will learn. Classrooms are calm spaces where the focus is firmly on learning. The vast majority of pupils work hard and try their very best.

High expectations of behaviour are well established and well understood. Pupils value the rewards they receive for good behaviour. There is great emphasis on teac...hing kindness in this school.

As a result, pupils and students take care of one another.

Pupils and students are friendly, polite and respectful to adults and to each other. They are very confident that if they have a problem, there will always be someone to help.

They say that assemblies and community time are very important in their school and that they learn to keep safe and look after each other.

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

Leaders and teachers are dedicated to improving the outcomes of all pupils and students. Much work has been completed to develop and enhance the curriculum.

Consequently, an ambitious, carefully sequenced curriculum is in place for most subjects. In the few cases where some further development is needed, leaders have made sure that curriculum leaders have the skills and support required to maintain the rapid momentum of improvement. However, results in national tests at the end of Year 11 do not yet reflect the impact of the revised curriculum.

Leaders identify the needs of those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) quickly and accurately. Information is shared with teachers who are skilled in ensuring that learning activities are well matched to the needs of pupils.Teachers use a range of strategies to check that all pupils have understood and remembered what they have learned.

They quickly recognise any gaps or misconceptions and take action to provide additional support. As a result, those with SEND achieve as well as other pupils. However, formal assessment is not always used as well as it could be to identify where curriculum design could be further improved.

Reading has a high priority in the school. Fortnightly reading sessions and community time reading are enjoyed by pupils. Those who struggle with reading are well supported to catch up.

A range of programmes help them to improve their reading fluency and comprehension. In addition, leaders have ensured that staff are trained to support those who need help with phonics. As a result, pupils' reading is improving across the school.

The focus leaders have placed on improving pupils' behaviour has paid dividends. Older pupils say that behaviour has improved hugely over time. Pupils and students know what is expected of them and know that they will be challenged if they do not meet those expectations.

This means that low-level disruption is rare and is usually dealt with very rapidly. Pupils agreed that positive learning attitudes are the norm.

The extensive personal development curriculum makes a strong contribution to the calm and purposeful ethos in the school.

Pupils are taught tolerance, respect and an understanding of fundamental British values. Alongside numerous clubs, visits and visitors, pupils and students are encouraged to volunteer and get involved with wider community activities. Community ambassadors lead the way, helping at food banks and supporting emergency workers in their activities.

Pupils are provided with unbiased careers advice from Year 7 onwards through a programme of employer engagement. One-to-one careers interviews are provided in Years 11 and 13 and local post-16 colleges visit the school to meet with pupils. Across the curriculum, there are careers champions who promote careers and there are plans to build on this and raise its profile further.

As a result, pupils are helped to prepare for their next steps effectively.

There is less clarity about how the sixth form ensures that all students are well prepared for their next steps by the end of Year 13. Although some students are supported to arrange their own work experience, not all do so.

Low attendance means that some students miss too much of their study programmes and do not achieve as well as they could.

School and trust leaders work well together to create an environment that meets the needs of the school and college community. Compassion and sensitivity are watchwords that underpin the curriculum and the aspiration for all.

Governors understand their role well. They meet statutory obligations, hold school leaders to account and ensure that trustees are well informed.

Most staff say that they are proud to work at this school.

They feel that their workload and well-being are taken into account. Staff are very appreciative of the training opportunities they have through the trust.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Safeguarding pupils and students is at the centre of leaders' work. Processes to identify pupils who need help are well embedded and rigorous. Leaders work effectively with a range of partners to ensure that the right help is secured at the right time.

All staff are trained to recognise and report concerns, no matter how small they may seem. Leaders ensure that appropriate pre-employment checks are made.

Pupils are taught how to recognise risks and to keep themselves safe.

Leaders keep abreast of risks in the local community and make sure that pupils know how to protect themselves from those risks.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• On occasion, curriculum plans do not identify carefully enough how learning will build and develop for each year group. Where this is the case, pupils do not always learn and remember as much as they could.

Leaders should ensure that all subject curriculum plans clearly identify what pupils should be learning in each unit of work, to build up to the agreed end point. ? Formal assessment is not always designed well enough to ensure that it measures what pupils have not learned as well as what they have learned. This means that teachers do not always have the right information to help them adapt their plans.

Leaders should make sure that formal assessment helps to identify gaps in learning more precisely. ? A small number of sixth-form students are not prepared well enough for their next steps. Study programmes do not always provide important elements to support students' development and ability to succeed in life and work.

As a result, some students do not achieve what they need to move on. Leaders should make sure that study programmes include all elements, particularly work experience, and identify how students will be supported to achieve their aspirations. ? Students' attendance is not regular enough in the sixth form.

As a result, a few students miss a significant proportion of their study programme. This impacts negatively on their achievement. Leaders should take action to improve students' attendance in the sixth form.