Marshalls Park Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend this school. They like that the school has a strong sense of community. Parents and carers also speak highly of the education that their children receive.

They are supportive of leaders' high expectations for pupils' behaviour and attitudes to learning.

The headteacher, trustees and staff are committed to ensuring that all pupils achieve highly. This vision is shared by pupils.

Pupils enjoy their time here. They appreciate that leaders and staff provide them with a calm and orderly learning environment.

Leaders have successfully raised expectations for the quality of pupils' learning.

Across the school, pupils' ach...ievement has improved. Pupils achieve well in a wide range of subjects. This includes in their GCSE examinations.

Leaders provide a wide range of extra-curricular activities aimed at developing pupils' character. Clubs for arts and sports are also very popular with pupils. They particularly enjoy opportunities to compete with other schools in a variety of sports, including volleyball and football.

Pupils behave very well. They show respect for their peers and teachers. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and caring.

Pupils focus on their work in lessons. Around the school, they conduct themselves sensibly and considerately. When bullying occurs, leaders make sure that it is dealt with promptly and effectively.

Pupils feel safe here.

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

Leaders and trustees focus sharply on ensuring that pupils receive a high-quality education. Their work is centred on an ambitious vision for all pupils.

In most subjects, leaders have secured considerable improvements in how well pupils achieve. This includes in their GCSE examinations. Crucially, leaders have put in place clear plans for what pupils should learn in most subjects.

Expectations are high for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders have also established effective systems to promote high standards of behaviour. This too enables pupils to learn well.

Leaders provide staff with high-quality guidance on how to plan and teach subjects effectively. Leaders' work has been particularly successful in English, religious education, science and history. In these subjects, pupils learn new knowledge in a logical manner.

They progressively deepen their understanding of important ideas. Teachers are clear about which concepts and ideas pupils need to learn next. They are clear on how this knowledge builds on what pupils have already studied.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They select activities which help pupils to understand key concepts. However, this is not the case in modern foreign languages and mathematics.

Some teachers lack the expertise to adapt subject plans effectively. Teaching does not take into account fully pupils' misconceptions or gaps in their knowledge. Sometimes, pupils do not have enough opportunities to practise aspects of learning that they find hard.

This holds some pupils back from achieving as well as they could in these subjects.

Leaders are keen to increase the proportion of pupils studying the EBacc suite of subjects in Years 10 and 11. To support this aim, all pupils study a wide range of subjects in Years 7 to 9.

However, plans for music, art, and design and technology do not enable pupils to study these subjects in sufficient depth. This reduces pupils' readiness to study more demanding content at GCSE. Leaders are aware of these shortcomings.

They are redeveloping subject plans so that pupils learn a suitably broad and ambitious range of knowledge and skills. They aim to introduce these plans from September 2020.

Teachers have high expectations of all pupils with SEND.

They understand and meet pupils' individual needs effectively. Across the school, pupils with SEND learn well.

Pupils behave well in lessons.

They know it is important to try their best. Classrooms have a calm and productive atmosphere. Low-level disruption is rare.

Leaders promote pupils' personal development through a wide range of well-chosen experiences and activities. Pupils learn about other faiths and cultures. They have regular opportunities to reflect on moral issues.

Teachers encourage pupils to think about their responsibilities as citizens and what they might learn from the experiences of others.

Staff enjoy working here. They appreciate leaders' support to reduce their workload and promote their well-being.

Trustees are strong and knowledgeable in their work.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have established a strong culture of safeguarding.

The welfare of pupils is always a priority here. Staff receive up-to-date training and understand their duties to keep pupils safe. They are vigilant in identifying potential risks to pupils.

They report any concerns in a timely manner.

Leaders and staff are very knowledgeable about risks in the local area, such as knife crime. They take appropriate steps to educate pupils about how they can reduce these risks.

Leaders work effectively with external agencies and ensure that pupils receive the right help when they need it. The pastoral team works closely with pupils and their families to understand pupils' needs.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

In music, art, and design and technology, pupils in Years 7 to 9 miss out on studying some important content.

Leaders have not ensured that subject plans enable pupils to gain sufficient depth and breadth in their knowledge. Leaders have suitable plans to address this by September 2020. For this reason, the transition arrangements have been applied in this case.

Leaders must ensure that pupils' learning in art, music and design and technology provides similar breadth and ambition to the national curriculum in Years 7 to 9. . In mathematics and modern foreign languages, teaching is not always sharply focused on ensuring that pupils learn and revisit important concepts.

Pupils do not develop their knowledge as well as they could. Leaders need to ensure that teaching enables all pupils, including those with SEND, grasp important knowledge securely. They should also check how effectively teachers use and adapt subject planning to support all pupils to produce work of a high standard.

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