The Studio School Liverpool

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. Senior leaders and staff have successfully created a vibrant, caring learning community where aspiration abounds and the individual can flourish.

There is a shared vision to prepare students well for employment. As a result, this is an orderly and business-like setting where students and staff work together cooperatively and purposefully. The behaviour of students is outstanding.

They are self-disciplined, courteous, broad-minded and sociable. As a consequence, they are determined to make the best of all the opportunities available to them. Teaching is characterised by high expectations of work and behaviour.

As a result, lesson...s proceed seamlessly and students make substantial gains in their knowledge and expertise. Students make good progress across a range of subjects. They achieve particularly well in the studio's specialism of digital technology.

The studio's work to keep students safe and secure is outstanding. The pastoral care of students is exceptional and has had an immeasurably positive impact on many students' lives. The studio has been successful in turning round the lives of young people who were previously at risk of disengagement from education.

Staff have been unrelenting in challenging absence. As a result, the attendance rate has improved dramatically since the studio opened and is now broadly in line with the national average. The sixth form is good.

Students develop skills and attitudes that prepare them well for the next stages in their lives. Students in the sixth form exert a positive influence, acting as strong role models for younger students. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Teaching is not always sufficiently tailored to suit the abilities of all students.

As a result, sometimes the work that the more able students are set is too easy. Middle leaders have not always been effective in ensuring all staff follow school policies, for example, in marking. As a result, some students' work goes uncorrected leading to them making repeated mistakes.

Retention on some courses in the sixth form is not good enough. As a result, some students do not achieve as well as they might. The studio's development plan lacks clear milestones and success criteria.

As a result, it is difficult for school leaders to check the progress they are making in tackling areas they have identified as requiring further improvement.

Information about this school

The Studio School opened in September 2013. It is sponsored by the Northern Schools Trust and provides specialist education in gaming and digital media education.

The curriculum also covers a range of traditional subjects including English, mathematics and science. The Studio School is co-located with another school in the Trust, UTC Life Sciences. Some teaching is delivered to students of The Studio School by teachers from the UTC and vice versa.

The school is much smaller than the average-sized secondary school and caters for students in the 14 – 19 age range. The Studio School recruits students from the Liverpool area and other boroughs further afield, such as St Helens. Almost half the students attending this school are eligible for support through the pupil premium.

This proportion is higher than the national average. The pupil premium is additional government funding for students who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those looked after by the local authority. The proportion of students from minority ethnic backgrounds is lower than the national average, as is the proportion of students who speak English as an additional language.

The proportion of students who are disabled or who have special educational needs is lower than average. Students in Key Stage 4 and in the sixth form undertake placements with local businesses, related to the school's specialism. It is not possible to state whether the school meets the government's floor standards, which are the minimum expectations of students' attainment and progress in English and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 4 because no students have as yet completed their Key Stage 4 courses.

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