Seaton Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), get on well together.

This makes Seaton Academy a supportive and welcoming place that is held in regard by pupils.From the start of their time in the Nursery class, children learn how to be a good friend. Pupils are kind and considerate towards each other.

They are happy in school.Pupils are keen to follow the clear guidance for their behaviour in school. They benefit from positive encouragement from caring staff.

Pupils take great pride when their efforts are recognised in the assemblies to which their parents are invited.The recently improved curriculum means that pupils are ...increasingly motivated to learn. However, in some subjects, pupils, including children in the early years, do not achieve as well as they should.

Pupils enjoy the range of clubs on offer, such as cricket, arts and crafts and cookery. Many pupils spoke enthusiastically about the performances they have taken part in as part of the school choir. By carrying out a range of special roles, pupils learn how their actions can help others.

For instance, the school council produced a cookbook to raise funds for a local food bank.

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

The increased expectations and ambition of leadership at all levels have contributed considerably to the turnaround of the school's fortunes. No time has been wasted in taking decisive action to tackle the areas of weakness identified at the previous inspection.

The effectiveness of governance has improved greatly. Trustees now have the breadth of experience and expertise to provide support and challenge to hold the school to account for the quality of education. Leadership capacity has been strengthened further through the allocation of clear roles and responsibilities in the staff team.

The curriculum has been reviewed in its entirety. It sets out broad and ambitious aims for all pupils, including those with SEND, and children in the early years. For each subject, the school has identified the important subject content that pupils need to know and remember.

This provides clarity for teachers on what should be taught and when this should happen.

The refreshed curriculum is at different stages of implementation. In some subjects, and in some areas of learning in the early years, teachers have received the support and training that they need to deliver subject content with expertise.

In these subjects, teachers present information clearly and help pupils to make links between their learning so that they can build on what they know.

In other subjects, the new curriculums are not having the same impact. Subject leadership in these subjects is in its infancy.

This means that staff have not received enough guidance to help them design learning that builds pupils' knowledge over time. It also means that the school does not have an accurate overview of what is working well and what areas of the curriculum require further refinement. This prevents the school from identifying the additional support and resources that staff need in order to deliver subject curriculums consistently well.

Although improving in some subjects, pupils, and children in the early years, do not learn and remember all that they should. Pupils' achievement is hampered further by the gaps in their learning as a result of the previous weak curriculum. The checks on their learning do not identify these gaps well enough.

As a result, misconceptions go unnoticed and unaddressed. This hinders pupils from gaining a secure body of knowledge that prepares them well for the next stage of their learning.

The school places reading at the front and centre in the curriculum.

As soon as they start in the Nursery class, children are immersed in the joy of books. Through the kind encouragement of staff, children learn to listen carefully and to talk about their ideas. They participate in a variety of familiar rhymes, songs and stories with gusto.

This groundwork ensures that children in Reception class get off to a flying start when learning to recognise sounds and their corresponding letters.

The early reading curriculum is well structured. Staff receive the training that they need to deliver the phonics programme consistently well.

Pupils practise reading regularly with books that are well matched to the sounds that they know. Pupils who find reading more difficult receive prompt and effective support to help them to catch up. Consequently, most pupils become fluent and confident readers by the end of Year 2.

Older pupils enjoy reading independently. They are keen to discuss their favourite books and authors.

Pupils are polite and friendly.

Their positive attitudes to learning mean that teachers can deliver the curriculum without disruption. The school identifies the needs of pupils with SEND early and accurately. Teachers have developed their confidence and expertise in adapting the curriculum to ensure that these pupils have access to the same ambitious curriculum as their classmates.

Leaders provide a range of exciting opportunities for pupils to expand their horizons and to develop their understanding of the world beyond their school and local community. Through the curriculum, and in assemblies, pupils learn about people with different backgrounds, faiths and families. This helps them to understand that differences should be respected.

Pupils also learn how to keep themselves safe and healthy.

Staff value the training and support that they have received in recent months. Most staff appreciate the consideration that the school has given to their workload when introducing many changes to the curriculum.

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly supportive of the school. They appreciate the care and opportunities provided for their children. Many parents recognise the improvements at the school and, in particular, the increased approachability of staff.

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 school does not have a clear insight into the effectiveness of the new curriculums. This prevents the school from ensuring that teachers receive the support that they need to implement the curriculums well.

The school should ensure that it checks the impact of the new curriculums so that it can be assured that pupils are achieving well. ? The impact of the new curriculums on pupils' learning is variable. In some subjects, staff have not had the support or guidance that they need to deliver the curriculums well.

This hinders staff from designing learning that helps pupils to learn all that they should. The school should ensure that it equips teachers with the knowledge and skills that they need to deliver the subject curriculums effectively. ? Weaknesses in the previous curriculum have left many pupils with gaps in their knowledge.

Teachers' checks on learning do not identify these gaps well enough so that pupils can overcome their misconceptions. This hampers pupils from building their knowledge over time so that they can achieve well. The school should ensure that teachers have the expertise to use assessment strategies effectively to identify and then address gaps in pupils' learning.

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