Thorp Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Thorp Academy continues to be a good school.

The principal of this school is Joanna Macaulay.

This school is part of Northern Education Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Robert Tarn, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Mark Henry Sanders. There is also an executive principal, Nikki Gibb, who is responsible for this school and two other schools, and a senior executive principal, Michael Robson, who is responsible for this school and eleven other schools.

What is it like to attend this school?

This is an inclusive and ambitious school. Staff are committed ...to supporting and developing every pupil. They celebrate pupils' achievements daily.

This motivates pupils and strengthens their self-belief. Pupils are polite and friendly. They show a respect for others and form positive relationships with their peers and with staff.

The school has high expectations for what pupils can achieve. The school's ambitious curriculum reflects this. Pupils get the help they need to overcome any barriers to their learning.

They work hard in lessons and produce work of a high quality. Pupils achieve well.This is a calm and orderly school with a positive learning environment.

Pupils respond well to staff's instructions and established routines. They behave well in lessons. The school deals effectively with any inappropriate behaviour.

It is not allowed to persist.Pupils' personal development has a high priority. Pupils enjoy visits to places of cultural interest.

They have access to a wide range of clubs and extra-curricular activities. Pupils enjoy working towards the 'iAspire' challenge, and wear their 'iAspire' badges with pride. They also take on roles of responsibility, such as student councillors and well-being ambassadors.

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

The school has developed a broad and ambitious curriculum. The curriculum is well sequenced. Pupils build their knowledge and subject-specific skills in a progressive manner.

At key stage 4, a large majority of pupils study for the English Baccalaureate. There is also a range of vocational courses. These courses meet pupils' needs and interests and reflect local employment opportunities.

The school has ensured that there are both academic and vocational curriculum pathways, from key stage 4 into the sixth form. The school prepares pupils well for the next stage of their education, training and employment.Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) study the same curriculum as their peers.

The school identifies pupils' needs well. Pupils with SEND get the additional support they need. This includes specific, personalised support for pupils who access the specially resourced provision.

The school is effective in meeting the needs of pupils with SEND. This enables pupils with SEND to achieve well from their individual starting points.The school prioritises reading.

It is quick to identify pupils who need extra help with their reading. These pupils get the specific support they need. This support includes programmes in phonics, reading fluency and reading comprehension.

This helps pupils at an early stage of reading to become confident and fluent readers. Moreover, the school promotes a love for reading through a variety of initiatives. These include weekly reading lessons, reading journals, author visits and events such as World Book Day.

Teachers use the school's model for teaching with great consistency. This supports pupils' learning in all subjects. Teachers have secure subject knowledge and present new information with clarity.

They revisit what pupils have learned before and build on this learning. Pupils have regular opportunities to complete independent work. Teachers provide feedback to pupils to help them improve their work.

However, sometimes, teachers do not secure pupils' knowledge with enough rigour. They do not give pupils sufficient opportunity to deepen and extend their learning.Pupils have positive attitudes to learning.

The school does not tolerate low-level disruption in lessons. When it does occur, the school deals with it effectively. The school's work on attendance is exemplary.

It has reduced levels of absence and persistent absence to national average levels. The school has established a positive climate for learning.The school has developed a comprehensive and age-appropriate personal development programme.

Pupils learn about issues such as relationships, physical and mental health, and equality and diversity. Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe, both online and in the local and wider community. From Year 7, pupils begin to explore potential careers.

Pupils receive the careers information, advice and guidance they need. This helps them to make well-informed decisions about their next steps.The school is providing pupils with a high-quality education.

The trust supports the school's development well. Staff benefit from the professional development opportunities that the trust provides. Trustees and local governors perform their respective roles and responsibilities with appropriate rigour.

They hold school leaders to account about the quality of provision and pupil outcomes. Staff enjoy working at the school. The school ensures that staff's workload is manageable.

Leaders prioritise staff's well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Sometimes, teachers do not use retrieval activities effectively enough or give pupils sufficient opportunity to discuss and debate their ideas.

This means that some pupils do not secure the essential knowledge they need, while others do not deepen and extend their learning. The school should ensure that it provides teachers with the pedagogical training and development they need to secure and deepen pupils' knowledge and understanding with greater strength and consistency.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in April 2019.