Ormiston Park Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are beginning to benefit from a new, positive culture in the school. New leadership has injected a sense of ambition for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Historically, pupils have not achieved well.

However, a new curriculum and targeted staff development are helping most pupils begin to learn better.

Most pupils have responded positively to raised expectations of their behaviour. Pupils now enjoy a learning environment that is mostly free from disruption.

They move around the school site calmly and purposefully. However, some pupils struggle to maintain these standards. As a result, other pupils' l...earning gets interrupted from time to time.

Some pupils have not yet developed a positive attitude to school. Demotivated by their past experiences, they are sometimes passive and disengaged. Some pupils do not attend school regularly.

This results in gaps in their learning.

Pupils in the ASCEND centre, the school's specially resourced provision for pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs (specially resourced provision), are well catered for. Pupils' individual needs are clearly understood, and adults adapt their approaches accordingly.

Consequently, pupils' learning is beginning to improve. Weekly enrichment activities, such as kayaking, contribute towards helping pupils to develop important skills such as teamwork.

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

The trust has established a new leadership and governance structure.

Within a short period of time, the new senior team has made a significant impact on the school. Aspiration has been raised for all. Pupils' behaviour has improved.

Leaders have taken substantial steps to ensure that pupils can access the quality of provision to which they are entitled.

Until recently, pupils' learning was disjointed and weak. This was reflected in the school's poor performance in GCSE examinations.

To address this, the school has introduced a newly considered curriculum. The school has set out in detail the information pupils need to learn and when. The school has ordered learning logically so that pupils can build up knowledge over time.

However, the plans do not always clearly link what pupils should already know to current learning. This means that teaching does not always focus on the precise knowledge pupils need. While pupils are learning more than before, this is not consistent across all subjects.

Trust specialists are working closely with teachers. This has resulted in teachers increasing their knowledge about how pupils learn in their subject. Specialists in SEND have set out how to support individuals to overcome specific barriers to learning.

However, this work is at an early stage. Therefore, some teachers have not had time to develop the depth of their teaching knowledge. As a result, teaching is not yet consistently effective in fully achieving the school's ambition for pupils.

The school does not effectively check on how well pupils have remembered what they have been taught. This means that the school does not know where gaps in pupils' knowledge have emerged. As a result, curriculum plans are not adapted to remedy these gaps.

Interventions are not precise enough to address specific issues. Hence, sometimes, pupils struggle to recall important knowledge over time.

The level of disruption to lessons by pupils' behaviour has reduced.

Pupils understand what is expected of them. They now learn in classrooms that are mostly calm and quiet. Where learning is disrupted, teachers generally are consistent in how they deal with it.

However, some teachers escalate incidents too quickly.

The school has employed a number of strategies to increase pupils' attendance. There has been a small improvement, but some pupils still do not attend school often enough.

In these cases, pupils miss important learning and fall behind their peers.

The curriculum for personal social and health education (PSHE) has been strengthened. The important knowledge pupils need for life in modern Britain is mapped out clearly.

The new careers programme is embedded in the curriculum. However, pupils' learning in PSHE is not secure, due to the variability in its delivery.

The interim academy board (IAB) brings significant experience and strength to the school.

It has a wealth of expertise in securing school improvement. This helps leaders refine their actions and remain focused on key priorities. The IAB provides effective support to staff during this period of change.

Staff value this. They see the positive impact already. They know they are valued and are an integral part of the school's improvement.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Curriculum plans do not always make it clear how learning links to what pupils should already know. This means that teachers do not always use what pupils know effectively in order to support new learning.

The school should ensure that curriculum plans make clear links to previous learning, and teachers understand how to use this information effectively so as to support pupils to learn what the school intends and achieve consistently well. ? Some teachers have not had enough training to ensure that they are able to deliver the curriculum as intended. Some instructions are too long and vague.

Learning activities do not always help pupils secure the key information they have been taught. This means that pupils do not always learn what the school intends. The school should ensure that all teachers have the training and support that enables them to deliver the planned curriculum consistently.

• The school's assessment strategy does not inform teachers effectively about what pupils have learned. This means teachers do not know what key knowledge pupils have secured, or how to adapt future curriculum planning to address gaps. The school should ensure that there is a robust assessment strategy that checks what pupils remember over time.

• Despite recent improvements, some pupils do not attend school regularly. As a result, these pupils have gaps in their learning. The school should continue to review its approaches to ensure that it uses the most effective strategies to improve pupils' attendance.