Seva School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from attending a welcoming and inclusive school. The Seva virtues of kindness, courage, honesty, tolerance, respect and responsibility are woven into the curriculum and understood by everyone.

Leaders have high expectations of all pupils and expect them to work hard and achieve their best.

Pupils behave well during lessons, when moving around the school and at playtimes. They take pride in their work.

Pupils are polite and well mannered. They show respect to each other and to adults. Pupils understand what bullying is and are confident that adults will quickly resolve any issues.

Pupils are proud of their school. They say that they are... happy and feel safe. Pupils know that they can go to any adult in school for help or guidance.

Staff know the pupils well across the school, and relationships between staff and pupils are very positive.

Leaders provide pupils with opportunities to prepare them for the future by taking on responsibilities that promote their independence. For example, pupils can be Seva buddies, faith leaders or form representatives.

They also enjoy attending clubs, including martial arts, Tabla and football.

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

Leaders have a clear vision for the school. They want all pupils at the school, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to achieve well.

There is a collective belief among the staff that all pupils can be successful.

Leaders have ensured that pupils study a range of subjects across both the primary and secondary phases. They have thought carefully about the curriculum from Reception to Year 11.

Leaders have considered the order in which pupils learn key facts, and set out the important information that pupils need to remember Pupils achieve well in both the primary and secondary phase as a result of this.

Children in the early years begin learning letters and sounds quickly after they start. The school's phonics programme is well planned.

Teachers provide daily opportunities for pupils to develop and practise their phonics. Staff have had training in the teaching of phonics so that they can support pupils with their reading. Pupils enjoy reading and read at home and in school.

However, for some pupils at earlier stages of learning to read, the books that they take home are not always matched to the sounds that they know. This may slow their progress in learning to read.

Most staff have a good understanding of the subjects they teach.

Where this is strong, staff ensure that pupils know everything they need to before completing tasks. They also make sure that pupils have time to revisit their learning. For example, pupils in Year 11 history started the lesson considering previous work on the destruction of Saxon land and life by the Normans.

This encourages pupils to make links in their learning and helps them to remember more over time. When pupils struggle with concepts, staff adapt learning to address this. For example, in Year 7 mathematics, learning focused on multiplying fractions as most pupils had struggled with this in the previous lesson.

Where this happens, it ensures that all pupils understand the learning before moving on. However, this approach is not consistent across the school. Occasionally, staff do not help pupils to learn as well as they could.

When this is the case, explanations are sometimes unclear, or staff do not select the best task for pupils to complete.

Leaders and staff work together to identify any pupils with SEND. These pupils learn well across different subjects because most teachers understand their needs and know how to make adaptations to support them, for example through the use of additional practical equipment.

However, occasionally, the support given to pupils is not as closely matched to their needs as it could be. When this happens, these pupils sometimes struggle to complete the tasks given to them.

Leaders have implemented an appropriate personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) curriculum.

Pupils' work in both PSHE and citizenship helps to enhance many aspects of their social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. This includes topics such as different types of relationships and consent. Pupils welcome and respect everyone in school and celebrate their differences.

They understand how to care for themselves and how to maintain healthy relationships with others.

Leaders provide effective careers support and guidance. The careers curriculum starts in the early years with a focus on people who help us.

This then progresses through the primary phase with topics such as challenging stereotypes. In the secondary phase, pupils benefit from a careers fair and a specific focus on enabling links with different providers. They value the different opportunities they have to engage with the world of work and understand the routes that are available to them when they leave school.

Staff are positive about leadership at the school following a time of turbulence. They say that leaders consider their well-being and work–life balance. Trustees know the school well and provide effective challenge and support.

They seek external validation of their actions, when appropriate.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders make sure pupils are safe.

Staff receive regular and appropriate training that ensures they can identify any problems pupils may face. Leaders also ensure that they are reactive to issues that may arise in the community or on social media. As a result, staff have a thorough understanding of the role they play in keeping pupils safe.

Adults know pupils well and are quick to identify and report any signs that may suggest a pupil is at risk of harm. Leaders work effectively with pupils and families who need extra help and support. They work closely with the relevant agencies.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• There is variation in teachers' understanding of the subjects they teach. Where this is not as strong, the tasks that teachers set do not always help pupils to learn key information as effectively as leaders expect. Leaders should ensure that all staff know how to teach the curriculum well.

• The books that pupils read are not always well matched to the sounds pupils know. When this occurs, it can slow the development of fluency in pupils' reading. Leaders should ensure that books in the reading programme are always well matched to pupils' phonic knowledge so that pupils gain confidence and read accurately.

• Pupils with SEND receive extra support of varying quality to keep up with their learning. As a result, additional support does not consistently have the desired impact on pupils' learning. Leaders should ensure that all additional support is well targeted and effective.