The Springboard Project

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The welfare and education of pupils, including students in the sixth form, are at the heart of The Springboard Project.

The school has high expectations for its pupils. It is ambitious for what pupils and students will achieve. Pupils work towards a range of formal qualifications, such as GCSEs.

Mostly, pupils and students who attend the school are suitably prepared for the next stage in their education, training or employment.

The school provides a high level of care for its pupils and their families. It is a happy place in which to learn.

Pupils feel welcome. Staff develop highly respectful relationships with pupils who have previously had a turbul...ent time in their education.

Pupils are generally motivated to try their best in lessons.

The school celebrates pupils' achievements. Pupils understand that success requires hard work and commitment, which they show in their lessons. Staff support pupils to manage their behaviour.

Typically, pupils have positive attitudes to their studies.

The curriculum to promote pupils' personal development is exceptional. The school is constantly looking for ways to engage pupils in the community.

For example, pupils have opportunities for work placements within the local area. This allows pupils to practise some key life skills in a different context. The 'Friday experience' allows pupils to access a wide variety of additional opportunities including art, sport or computing.

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

The trust has worked well with the school to develop a bespoke curriculum to meet pupils' needs. This includes for those pupils with significant gaps in their knowledge and understanding. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) who often arrive with many complex needs, have their needs identified well.

This enables many pupils to achieve well.

In a few subjects, the school does not have an effective oversight of the delivery of the curriculum. This means that occasionally, the school is unaware of how well pupils learn curriculum content in these subjects.

This affects how well some pupils learn the intended curriculum.

Even though the curriculum is new, the school has thought carefully about the subjects that pupils will study. Within each subject, the school has considered the key content that pupils should learn.

It has also set out in what order pupils will learn this content.

The way that teachers deliver the curriculum is consistent across most subjects. In various lessons, the activities that pupils complete support their learning of new knowledge.

In many subjects, teachers use assessment strategies to check on pupils' knowledge and understanding of the topics that they have studied.

Occasionally, in some lessons, teachers do not select well-chosen activities to support pupils' learning. This means that, from time to time, pupils do not acquire the knowledge that the school intended them to.

The school has a keen focus to ensure that pupils learn to read. It ensures that pupils have access to different texts. Staff ensure that pupils receive targeted support to develop their reading skills and their understanding of the different texts that they study.

If pupils require any support with their phonics knowledge, the school uses a bespoke programme to help pupils to gain that understanding swiftly. Many pupils develop a more positive attitude towards reading as they move through the school.

Around the school, there is a caring and supportive atmosphere.

Staff greet pupils in the morning when they come into school. This helps pupils to settle and have a positive start to the day. Pupils are welcoming to visitors.

Previously, many pupils did not attend school as often as they should have. However, due to changes in the curriculum, alongside clear analysis of attendance patterns by the school, attendance for pupils is improving over time. In addition, the school has brought about noticeable improvements in pupils' behaviour.

Effective actions have led to a reduction in more serious instances of disruption to lessons.

Pupils' wider development is exceptionally well thought out. The school ensures that pupils experience an abundance of opportunities.

For example, pupils visit museums, go hiking outdoors or visit religious buildings. The school ensures that pupils receive effective support around money management. This helps to prepare them for adulthood and their next steps.

As a result, pupils are becoming more prepared for life in modern Britain. Pupils receive effective external careers guidance. This helps pupils to be ambitious for their future when they leave the school.

The trust and CEO work with the school to instil a strong sense of passion and teamwork. Staff are proud to work at the school and morale is high. Trustees and governors use their knowledge and skills to carry out their roles effectively.

The school, including trustees and governors, supports staff workload and well-being. This is achieved through collaboration or carefully designed policies which support staff to have a manageable workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few subjects, the school does not have a strong oversight of how well curriculums are delivered. This occasionally means that the school does not act swiftly to address some deficiencies in the implementation of these curriculums. The school should develop its approach to evaluating the quality and effectiveness of the curriculum in these subjects.

• In a minority of subjects, the learning activities that pupils undertake do not help them to build a secure body of knowledge over time. This means that pupils sometimes do not achieve as well as they could. The school should ensure that teachers have the guidance that they need to design learning that helps pupils to know and remember more over time.