Shavington Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. All groups of students achieve well.

Standards are above average in English and mathematics. Following early entry for GCSE examinations in English, students in the current Year 11 have reached the highest standards in this subject in the school's history and over a fifth attained grades A* or A. Attainment in history, art and design and media/film/TV is well above average.

Teaching is improving apace and is now good, with examples of outstanding practice in a range of subjects. Teachers have good relationships with their students and ask them challenging questions to make them think more deeply about the subjects they are studying. Stud...ents show much pride in their school and speak highly of the staff who work with them.

In their words, 'Our teachers are friendly and approachable when we have problems.' Students feel safe and behave well, sometimes outstandingly well. They believe that bullying is rare and is dealt with effectively if it occurs.

The school promotes students' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development exceptionally well. Students have a keen sense of right and wrong, and know how to combat prejudice. Governors know the school well, and support and challenge leaders at all levels with rigour.

Along with the dedicated headteacher and talented senior leaders, they have improved teaching and achievement so they are now both good. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Students' achievement in mathematics, particularly of those eligible for free school meals, is not speeding up as quickly as in English. Teaching is too variable in quality.

Students have too few opportunities to practise their mathematical skills in other subjects. The quality of marking is too variable in quality between subjects. The school recognises that the leadership skills of some subject leaders are underdeveloped.

As a result, these leaders do not always have the impact on students' performance which they could.

Information about this school

This is much smaller than the average-sized secondary school. It is a Cooperative Trust School.

The proportion of students supported at school action is below average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also below that usually found. The proportion of students known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium is below average.

(The pupil premium is extra money for those students known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority.) Most students are White British and there are very few learning English as an additional language. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for students' attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

A small number of students in Years 10 and 11 attend alternative provision at South Cheshire College and Reaseheath College. There have been significant staffing changes since the previous inspection, particularly at subject leadership levels. The school is an Investor in Careers and holds Artsmark and the Excellence in Mentoring award as part of its Inclusion Quality Mark status.