John O’Gaunt School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Since academisation, leaders have been successful in driving up standards. As a result of their actions, teaching and pupils' outcomes are good. The headteacher has created a culture of higher ambition in which pupils are encouraged to reach their potential in a nurturing and inclusive way.

The school's partnership with the Excalibur Academies Trust (EAT) makes a strong contribution to the school's ongoing improvement. Governors and trustees provide effective support and challenge to school leaders. Most pupils benefit from good teaching that enables pupils to learn effectively.

Consequently, most pupils are making good progress from thei...r starting points across a range of subjects. The school has a warm, community feel, and relationships are strong. Staff know their pupils extremely well and support them effectively in their personal development.

Leaders have tailored the curriculum to pupils' needs, encouraging higher aspirations. As a result, pupils are making more sustained progress, especially the most able. Disadvantaged pupils benefit from a range of targeted interventions.

As a result, they are generally making good progress from their starting points. Careers information, advice and guidance is a particular strength. Pupils are very well prepared for their next steps.

Safeguarding processes are very effective. Pupils and parents agree that pupils are safe in school. Pupils' progress in science is weaker than in other subjects, partly as a result of unstable staffing and a legacy of weaker teaching in the past.

Some pupils, especially boys, typically enter the school with low levels of literacy. These pupils need more opportunities to develop their written and spoken skills in order to make better progress. Where teaching is less effective, some pupils lose focus, resulting in low-level disruption to learning.

Exclusion rates, while stabilising, are still too high. Overall absence rates, including persistent absence, are higher than the national average. Leaders' strategies are leading to improvement, but actions are not evaluated sharply enough.

Information about this school

The school is much smaller than the average-sized secondary school. The school was opened as a new academy in October 2016, when it joined the Excalibur Schools Trust. A governing body provides local oversight of the academy and reports to a board of trustees.

The majority of pupils are of White British heritage, with a proportion of minority ethnic groups slightly below the national average The number of pupils with SEND is well above average. Around a fifth of pupils are disadvantaged and are supported through the pupil premium. The school does not make use of alternative provision for pupils away from the school's site.

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