University Academy Holbeach

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a welcoming school. Everybody gets along. Pupils are happy here and say they feel safe.

They enjoy positive relationships with caring staff. Pupils respect diversity. Discrimination is never tolerated.

Any incidents of bullying are taken very seriously. Pupils know who they can talk to if they are worried. They trust staff to provide support if it is needed.

The curriculum provides a very broad range of academic and vocational subjects. There are high expectations for what all pupils can achieve, including pupils who are disadvantaged or pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, because the curriculum is not always del...ivered as effectively as it could be, pupils do not always achieve as well as they should.

This is reflected in the recent published outcomes for external examinations.

The school provides well for pupils' wider personal development. Pupils learn how to live active, healthy lifestyles.

They enjoy a variety of extra-curricular opportunities in sports, the performing arts and other pastimes that interest them, such as knitting or 'Dungeons and Dragons'. Pupils are proud to be prefects or members of the school council. They are involved in decisions that affect the school and lead charity fundraising activities.

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

The curriculum is ambitious. In key stage 3, pupils learn the full range of national curriculum subjects. There are many vocational courses available in key stages 4 and 5, alongside academic subjects.

These different options provide for pupils' various interests and aspirations. All pupils can choose to study the full range of English Baccalaureate subjects. Vocational courses are taught by expert staff in exceptionally well-resourced classrooms.

Pupils really value the opportunities available to them.

The school has considered the curriculum carefully. It has identified the important knowledge that pupils will learn and when.

However, pupils do not always benefit from the curriculum as well as they should because it is not always delivered consistently. Teachers sometimes do not ensure that pupils' previous learning is secure. Any gaps in pupils' knowledge are not always identified or corrected.

When pupils meet new concepts, they can struggle to make links to what they know already. Furthermore, some teachers do not check carefully enough how well pupils have understood new information to correct any misunderstandings. In response, some teachers do not routinely adapt learning activities to provide pupils with extra support or additional challenge.

As a result, pupils do not always produce work of high quality. They do not always achieve as well as they should.

In some areas, the curriculum is delivered effectively.

This is particularly the case in the vocational subjects and in the sixth form. In these instances, teachers use their expert subject knowledge to check pupils' learning carefully and to make sure that activities are adapted carefully to meet pupils' needs. When this is the case, pupils achieve well.

The school quickly identifies when pupils have additional needs. There are robust systems in place to make sure that information about pupils with SEND is shared with all staff. This includes strategies to assist these pupils with their learning.

However, when the curriculum is delivered less effectively, these pupils are not always helped as well as they could be. The school promotes reading across the curriculum. Specialist staff provide strong support to help weak readers develop their reading fluency and improve their comprehension skills.

The school's curriculum for personal, social and health education (PSHE) is well considered and delivered effectively. Safety is a key focus, with pupils benefiting from visits from the police and fire services. In PSHE lessons, pupils consider how to maintain healthy relationships and how to take care of their own mental health.

They learn about different faiths and cultures and about equality. The curriculum helps pupils to understand British values. In the sixth form, the personal development programme prepares students very well for their lives after school.

Pupils, and students in the sixth form, receive very detailed information about future choices in education and careers. There are many opportunities for them to meet with local employers and hear about future opportunities, including apprenticeships. The vast majority of pupils go on to be successful in their chosen destinations.

The majority of staff are proud to work at the school and feel well supported by leaders. The school has begun work to improve the curriculum. However, in some areas, there is a lack of clarity about the actions the school will take to achieve this.

Also, the monitoring of the impact of this work lacks rigour, including by those responsible for governance.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Teachers do not reliably check how well pupils can recall what they have learned previously or how well they have understood new knowledge.

They do not always identify accurately when pupils have knowledge gaps or misconceptions. As a result, pupils sometimes struggle to make connections in their learning and do not gain knowledge as securely as they should. The school needs to ensure that teachers check pupils' understanding accurately and act swiftly to resolve knowledge gaps and misconceptions.

• Teachers do not routinely adapt learning activities to meet pupils' needs. As a result, some pupils, including pupils with SEND, sometimes do not receive the support they need to make sense of new information. At other times, activities are not challenging enough.

Consequently, pupils do not achieve as well as they should. The school needs to ensure that teachers systematically adapt learning activities to meet the needs of all pupils. ? Senior and trust leaders, and those responsible for governance, do not have a close-enough oversight of work to improve the school's curriculum.

It is not always clear what the school is trying to improve, how this will be achieved or whether it is working. The school and trust must ensure that actions to improve the curriculum are thought through sufficiently well. Trust leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that the school's actions to improve the curriculum are effective.