The Jubilee Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school motto of 'aspire and achieve' is very evident here. Leaders place a very strong emphasis on pupils working hard and doing their best.

Leaders, governors and staff are driven by a clear moral purpose to get pupils at the school re-engaged in education and to change the course of their lives.

Leaders have established a clear vision to place pupils on track for success. Many pupils return to secondary school as quickly as possible.

Pupils who join the school in Year 11 concentrate on gaining the qualifications and skills they need to move on to sixth form or college.

Pupils feel safe and secure at the school. They understand the rules, which ...are applied consistently and fairly.

The calm and orderly environment allows pupils to concentrate on their lessons and experience praise and reward for their success. Pupils make friends and develop trusting relationships with adults. Pupils do not feel that bullying is an issue at the school, and if it did happen they are confident that leaders would sort it out quickly.

Pupils often continue to return to the school long after they have left to share news of their positive steps in the world and to talk to current pupils about their experiences.

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

Leaders have established an ambitious and broad curriculum for all pupils at the school. Pupils build up their subject knowledge and skills in a sequential way.

The curriculum is designed to help pupils address any gaps in their learning, so that they can return to their secondary school quickly and with as little disruption to their education as possible.

Leaders prioritise reading. If a pupil is learning to decode text, teachers provide timely and sensitive support so that the pupil catches up quickly.

All pupils continue to strengthen their literacy and oracy skills so that they can easily access the rest of the curriculum.

Expert teachers deliver their subjects with enthusiasm and creativity. They bring lessons alive by involving pupils in their learning and listening to their points of view about topics such as the environment, sustainability and human rights.

Pupils enjoy these exchanges and share their views in a mature and compelling way. Leaders make sure that there is a careful assessment of pupils' needs and abilities when they join the school. Teachers regularly check that pupils are progressing through the curriculum and that they are retaining skills and knowledge from earlier lessons.

Pupils take pride in the work that they produce. It is neatly presented and shows how their learning builds on knowledge that they have already acquired.

Sometimes pupils' emotions bubble over.

They have often joined the school because they need extra help and understanding to manage their emotions and to learn how to regulate their own behaviour. Leaders have ensured that there are consistent and fair consequences for poor behaviour, and as a result disruption is minimised. Pupils say that they feel safe and that behaviour is managed well at the school.

Pupils understand the consequences and think that they are fair.

Staff help pupils to learn about themselves and what it is to be a responsible adult. The personal, social, health and relationships education (PSHRE) curriculum includes important topics such as safe and consensual relationships, understanding and tolerating different points of view, beliefs and culture.

Pupils are also taught about the negative impact of different forms of hate and intolerance in society.

Leaders have ensured that pupils are taught about the world of work and about the next steps that they can take after school. Most pupils in Year 11 choose to apply for colleges or sixth forms and they have help to prepare their applications and to get ready for interviews.

Pupils know about apprenticeships and that leaders will support them in this choice if they wish.

Many staff have worked at the school since it opened nearly 10 years ago. They feel very well supported by leaders.

School staff take their professional development very seriously and they appreciate the training and encouragement that they receive from leaders to develop their careers and their expertise.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders, including governors, have ensured that there is a strong culture of safeguarding throughout the school.

They have established clear arrangements to identify pupils who may need help or who are at risk. Leaders responsible for safeguarding secure the support that pupils need, including from external agencies if necessary. Leaders work with these partner agencies in a joined-up way.

Staff who work at the school undergo thorough checks. They follow a careful induction programme when they start and have regular and meaningful updates to their training. Leaders have ensured that staff understand the specific risks that pupils at the school may face.