The Fallibroome Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, and students in the sixth form, enjoy attending this school.

They are proud to be part of the school community and they treat each other with respect. Pupils feel safe in school, and they appreciate the high priority that leaders give to issues related to their well-being.

Leaders ensure that staff have high expectations for pupils' learning and behaviour.

Pupils demonstrate excellent behaviour in all lessons and around the school site. Overall, due to a well-designed curriculum, many pupils and students achieve well across a range of subjects.

Pupils and students told inspectors that leaders take bullying seriously and deal with it quickly i...f it happens.

Leaders have placed a particular emphasis on ensuring that pupils have a secure understanding of how to keep themselves safe and healthy in their everyday lives. For example, leaders support pupils to understand how to look after their mental health. Pupils said that they value the work that leaders have done in this area to support their emotional well-being.

Pupils enjoy the wide range of activities that are open to them, including the recent school show, performing arts and sports clubs. Students in the sixth form enjoy a range of enrichment opportunities to support the development of their wider personal skills.

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

Leaders have high aspirations for pupils' and students' academic learning and their wider personal development.

They have designed an ambitious and well-thought-out curriculum. Staff take care to deliver the curriculum skilfully. Leaders ensure that staff prepare pupils and students appropriately for the next steps in their education, training and/or employment.

Pupils, and students in the sixth form, develop a suitably deep body of subject knowledge because they learn effectively.

Leaders are working to increase the proportion of pupils studying the English Baccalaureate suite of subjects. This figure is currently lower than leaders would like.

As a result, they have put measures in place to encourage more pupils to study modern foreign languages. In the sixth form, leaders have increased the breadth of subjects that are on offer. Students benefit from an appropriate range of academic and vocational courses.

There is a suitable assessment system in place. This enables teachers to identify and address gaps in pupils' and students' knowledge and skills. Teachers give pupils and students plentiful opportunities to revisit their learning and to reflect on what they must do to improve.

Mostly, teachers are adept at addressing misconceptions in pupils' and students' learning.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are assessed and identified accurately by leaders. Leaders have put in place an appropriate range of strategies to support pupils with SEND to achieve.

These strategies are particularly strong for pupils with SEND who have an education, health and care plan. Leaders are in the process of finalising additional support for pupils in receipt of SEND support.

Leaders have put in place an intensive programme of help for pupils who find reading more difficult.

Where appropriate, this support includes the use of systematic synthetic phonics. Pupils who require assistance with their reading knowledge are improving their fluency and comprehension skills quickly. Leaders are building more opportunities for pupils to develop their reading knowledge across the whole curriculum.

Pupils' behaviour in corridors is courteous and calm. In lessons, pupils respond swiftly to instructions from staff. Low-level disruption is rare.

Leaders continue to improve rates of attendance for most pupils at this school. However, some pupils who are disadvantaged do not attend school regularly enough. This affects how well some of these pupils learn the curriculum.

Those pupils who are not in lessons miss out on important learning and do not achieve as well as they should.

Leaders have developed a strong programme of careers advice and guidance for pupils in key stages 3 and 4, and for students in the sixth form. Pupils and students receive a wide range of information about the opportunities available to them post-16 and post-18.

The personal development programme which has been developed for pupils in Years 7 to 11 is thorough and effective. It is taught by specialist teachers who are appropriately trained to tackle sensitive topics, including unwanted sexual behaviours. In the sixth form, students have dedicated time to reflect on important current affairs as part of their programme of wider learning.

Pupils and students benefit from access to a range of activities and clubs to build their character. Students in the sixth form take on key leadership responsibilities to contribute positively to the local community. For example, they support a range of charities.

Staff feel well supported by leaders. They are particularly positive about leaders' response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Trustees and governors have a secure understanding of the quality of education that the school provides to pupils.

Leaders afford staff a suitable range of opportunities for their ongoing training and subject-specific development. Staff are appreciative of leaders' efforts to manage their workload and well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have made strong use of external support to ensure that safeguarding arrangements are fully effective. There are clear and effective systems for recording any safeguarding concerns. Staff pass on any potential concerns about pupils in a timely manner.

Leaders monitor and assess emerging safeguarding concerns to spot patterns and to inform the wider personal development programme for pupils.

Leaders ensure that pupils are taught about how to keep themselves safe through the 'respect' curriculum. This continues into the sixth form through a well-designed tutor programme.

Pupils, and students in the sixth form, can identify a range of trusted adults with whom they can talk when they have any concerns.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some pupils who are disadvantaged do not attend school as often as they should. This negatively impacts on how well they learn the curriculum.

Consequently, these pupils do not achieve highly. Leaders should improve the rates of attendance of those disadvantaged pupils who are regularly absent from school. This is so that they experience the full curriculum, achieve highly and benefit from the wider personal development programme.