Ortu Hassenbrook Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils enjoy attending Ortu Hassenbrook Academy. They take part in a broad range of trips, visits, and clubs, including annual musical theatre productions and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme. These activities develop pupils' confidence and widen their range of experiences and interests.

Pupils can develop their leadership skills through an active school council. Year 11 pupils take part in a mock interview day as part of the school's well-planned careers programme. This helps to prepare pupils for the next stages in their education and employment.

Most pupils behave well, both in and out of lessons. Bullying sometimes happens and, when it does, teachers make... it stop. Overall, pupils treat each other and staff with respect.

Nevertheless, pupils are frustrated that some lessons are disrupted by poor behaviour.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. They know about the importance of consent and the dangers of drink-driving.

Most lessons develop pupils' knowledge well. However, some lessons are not adapted well enough to meet all pupils' needs, including those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). As a result, pupils often do not achieve as well as they should.

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

The curriculum identifies the important knowledge pupils need to achieve well. This is broken down so that learning builds upon what pupils already know. Teachers regularly build in opportunities in lessons, particularly at the start, to revisit pupils' knowledge from previous lessons.

This helps most pupils to know and remember more.

While the curriculum is increasingly well thought through, the quality of teaching in the classroom varies considerably. Many teachers think carefully about what pupils need to know and check how well pupils are learning.

Some teachers deliver lessons that match pupils' needs. This deepens their understanding and thinking. However, there are time when pupils are not fully engaged in their work because the work is either too easy or too difficult.

Where this is the case, pupils become disengaged and do not produce high-quality work.

Where the quality of education is most effective, teachers skilfully adapt their teaching to ensure pupils, including those with SEND, can access the curriculum successfully. However, teachers do not routinely use information about pupils' knowledge to precisely identify what they know and what they do not remember.

This means that teachers do not have accurate information to be able to accurately change their teaching to meet pupils' needs. As a result, some groups of pupils do not make the progress that they should.

Weaker readers are supported by interventions that help pupils become increasingly fluent and accurate in their reading.

Leaders are aware that more needs to be done to develop literacy across the curriculum and to encourage a love of reading. There are clear plans in place that show what leaders are putting in place.

The school has set out clear expectations of pupils' behaviour and attendance.

This is to some extent helping to improve behaviour and support pupils to attend more regularly. However, some teachers do not follow the behaviour policy consistently and are too willing to accept pupils not following the rules. Some pupils do not follow instructions quickly enough.

As a result, a significant minority of pupils interrupt learning in these lessons.

The school's personal, social and health education curriculum ensures that pupils learn about topics such as healthy relationships and how to keep personal information safe. There are close links to the local community, such as during 'grandparents' evening', when senior citizens visit the school, as well as charitable fundraising schemes.

Pupils visit local colleges. Some take part in the 'brilliant club' programme to raise their aspirations by learning about studying at university. Older pupils can choose to study for a range of vocational qualifications.

These prepare pupils well for university and for employment in the local area.

Governors and trust leaders have a clear and accurate view of the school's strengths and areas for development. Leaders have made well-considered improvements to the curriculum and pastoral system, with more work underway, especially around reading and provision for pupils with SEND.

These changes are beginning to improve both behaviour and the quality of teaching, but they are not fully developed.

Staff, including early career teachers, are provided with training and support to help them implement the important changes. Staff share the view that they are supported with their well-being and workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, the use of information from assessment to identify weaknesses in the curriculum and to adjust its implementation is not sufficiently precise. As a result, some teachers do not build on what pupils already know, and they do not adapt their teaching accordingly to address any gaps in pupils' knowledge.

The school should ensure that staff understand how to use assessment data precisely to adjust their plans and activities to ensure they revisit knowledge that pupils have not been taught or do not remember. ? Plans for pupils with SEND are not routinely used effectively by staff. Staff do not adapt their lessons well around the needs of pupils.

When this happens, pupils are unable to access the curriculum effectively. As a result, they do not always make the progress that they should. The school should ensure that staff have the training and monitoring to adapt lessons effectively around the needs of pupils.

• Teachers do not apply the behaviour policy consistently well or with high enough expectations of how pupils should behave. Consequently, some pupils disrupt the learning of others. The school should ensure that staff are trained and monitored to implement the agreed behaviour policy consistently and effectively.