The UCL Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is an inclusive and welcoming school. The school has high aspirations for pupils' academic achievement, including pupils for with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The ambitious curriculum is broad and balanced.

Overall, pupils achieve well in public examinations, especially in English and mathematics.

Typically, pupils behave well around the school. In lessons, most pupils have positive attitudes to their learning.

On occasion, however, this is not the case, and some pupils lose focus. Staff help pupils to understand the importance of equality. They do not tolerate any discriminatory language.

Pupils appreciate the wide rang...e of extra-curricular activities that are timetabled within the school curriculum. These include Latin, samba, fencing, meditation, and jewellery making. Students in the popular sixth form are very positive about their educational experience.

They are well prepared for their next stage whether this is employment, education or training.

Pupils feel safe at school. They have a trusted adult to turn to if they have any worries.

Staff and pupils are positive about the recent improvements in behaviour around the school and at breaktimes. Leaders recognise that there is still more work to do in embedding their much higher expectations of pupil behaviour.

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

Leaders have established a rich and relevant curriculum.

The school is ambitious for all pupils to achieve well, including those with SEND. For example, almost all pupils study a modern foreign language at GCSE. The art department has developed a range of links with community arts and creative organisations.

The sixth form offers a wide range of A level subjects and provides strong support for students' academic and personal development. Staff identify pupils with SEND with precision and quickly put in place a wide range of effective support.

The curriculum is logically set out with important subject knowledge taught in a coherent sequence.

Teachers ensure that pupils have wider knowledge about the context of the topic, so that they develop a deeper understanding of what they are learning. For example, in English, pupils learn about the poor law in Victorian England and why this is so important when studying 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens. Teachers carefully build up pupils' knowledge and skills.

For example, in Year 7 mathematics, pupils learn how to calculate the area and circumference of two-dimensional shapes such as a circle. In Year 8, this is built on further, with pupils learning how to calculate the volume of a cylinder. On occasion, however, and across subjects, teachers do not check precisely enough what pupils have learned.

This leads to some gaps in pupils' learning. As a result, pupils' misconceptions sometimes go unchecked and they struggle to embed new knowledge.

Pupils who need extra support with their reading receive targeted help so that they can catch up.

This includes pupils who join the school at different times and are new to learning English. Staff promote reading for pleasure well across the school.

Leaders have significantly raised their expectations of pupils' behaviour.

Typically, lessons run smoothly without any disruption. However, occasionally the school's behaviour systems are not applied with consistency. This includes during lessons and around the school.

Leaders have put a range of strategies in place to improve the behaviour of a small proportion of pupils who are consistently not meeting these higher expectations. Most pupils recognise how these changes have improved behaviour in recent months.

The school is aware that attendance levels dipped in the last academic year.

As a result, there is now a robust whole-school focus on the importance of regular attendance. Staff work well with families and a range of agencies to support pupils whose attendance is not high enough. This has led to a significant reduction in the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent.

Leaders prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain. The personal, social and health education curriculum is carefully designed. Staff are well-prepared to teach pupils about sensitive subjects such as puberty and radicalisation.

All pupils, including those with SEND, take part in visits to places of local interest such as the Houses of Parliament, museums, and theatres. These visits broaden pupils' cultural experiences. Pupils value the range of clubs that the school offers such as chess, boxing, and badminton.

The school gives careers guidance for pupils a high priority. Pupils complete work experience and receive impartial careers advice. Pupils with SEND are given one-to-one support with college visits and applications.

Governors have a strong understanding of the school's strengths and areas for improvement. They carefully balance their duties to ensure school improvement with support for staff well-being and workload. Members of the governing board seek stakeholder views regularly and know the school well.

Staff are appreciative of the positive culture instilled by new leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Sometimes, the new behaviour policy is not implemented consistently so that expectations remain high across the school.

This means that during lessons pupils' behaviour is sometimes off task. In addition, some pupils' conduct during social times, including in corridors and the playground, is not calm and orderly. The school needs to ensure that all staff are fully confident in managing behaviour and build on the recent improvements that are evident since the last inspection, so that pupils consistently display positive attitudes and respect towards their learning, peers and staff.

• On occasion, teaching does not make sure that pupils' misconceptions are identified and addressed with enough rigour and accuracy. This limits pupils' knowledge and understanding and they are not as well prepared for future learning as they could be. The school should ensure that checks on pupils' learning are used routinely and purposefully to plug any gaps in knowledge so that pupils are fully ready to learn new content.