Venerable Bede Church of England Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This school has undergone considerable positive change of late.

Several leaders are new to their posts. Serious concerns about pupils' behaviour, attitudes to learning and attendance are being successfully addressed. Some pupils now attend school more regularly and have an increasingly positive approach to their studies.

However, much work is still required to ensure that pupils receive an acceptable quality of education.

The school is ambitious for everyone who attends to share its vision to 'Soar to the heights together'. Staff are proud to work at the school and share good relationships with pupils.

Significant staff absence in the past has impact...ed negatively on the school's journey of improvement. Pupils are now taught by specialist staff who know them well. Most pupils have an adult they would ask for help.

Bullying has reduced at the school. Pupils mostly conduct themselves in an orderly way.

The school places an emphasis on making careful choices and respecting others.

Pupils are taught about other faiths, how British society functions and the importance of staying healthy. However, some of these important messages are not well understood by pupils. There are many enrichment opportunities on offer.

Some pupils make good use of these to develop their talents and interests.

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

The way in which the curriculum has been taught over time has been too variable. Pupils do not remember much of what they have been taught in the past.

Significant gaps in pupils' skills and knowledge negatively impact on their achievement in external tests and assessments. Published outcomes in 2024 were poor.

The way that staff check pupils' understanding does not precisely identify what pupils can, and cannot, do.

Staff still do not carefully adapt new learning based on what they know about pupils. This means that pupils do not learn the curriculum as well as they might. Recently the school has improved the way it tracks and predicts pupils' achievement.

This is beginning to inform the identification of support and intervention for pupils who need it most.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive additional support at the school. Professional development for staff ensures that pupils' varying needs are understood.

Adjustments to meet these needs in lessons are of a variable quality. This means that some pupils with SEND do not learn the curriculum as well as they should.

The school provides additional support for pupils at an early stage of learning to read.

The specific strategy needed for each pupil is well set out. This is helping pupils who receive this support to develop their fluency. However, reading and literacy are less well embedded across the school.

In some subjects, important vocabulary is not emphasised by staff nor used confidently by pupils. This limits the quality of discussion in lessons and written responses in pupils' books. Some pupils cannot read, write and communicate as well as might be expected for their age.

Pupils' behaviour and attendance is improving over time. Inspectors visited lessons where pupils were calm and focused. However, sometimes pupils are not engaged in their learning and staff do not tackle this effectively.

Some pupils do not appreciate the importance of attending school regularly. Leaders are working tirelessly to improve pupils' attitudes to their education. There are positive signs of success in this aspect of the school's work.

Pupils are taught about life in modern Britain through the school's personal, social and health education programme. However, as in other subjects, they do not retain this knowledge consistently or demonstrate an effective understanding of the protected characteristics, democracy or a range of world faiths, for example. The school provides many opportunities for pupils to explore future careers.

Pupils undertake work experience, hear from local business professionals and receive impartial careers advice.

Those responsible for governance are realistic about the challenges the school faces. They are mindful of the impact on staff well-being when significant improvement is required.

Steps have been taken to increase capacity at the school and reduce staff absence. This is beginning to have a positive impact on all aspects of the school's work.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school's curriculum has not been well implemented over time. This is, in part, due to high levels of staff absence. However, it is also due to some staff not checking what pupils know and can do before setting new learning.

As a result, pupils do not have a secure understanding of what they have been taught. The school should ensure that they identify the strategies that are most effective for securing pupils' knowledge and that these are implemented consistently across the school. ? Pupils do not have a secure understanding of important subject-specific vocabulary and terminology.

Staff do not focus on this important information in some lessons. Some pupils cannot read, write and communicate as well as they should be able to. The school should ensure that staff emphasise important vocabulary and guide pupils to use it confidently in their written and verbal responses.

• Over time, pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, have not gained the skills and knowledge they require to succeed in external tests and assessments. Therefore, pupils are not well prepared for their next steps in education, employment or training. The school should ensure they have effective systems to assess gaps in pupils' knowledge and skills and implement precise support, intervention and teaching strategies that will most benefit pupils' outcomes.

Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough or meet the school's high expectations for conduct. This is because the positive ethos and culture created by the school is not embedded among a significant minority of pupils. The school should ensure that the importance of regular attendance and a positive attitude to learning are continually emphasised and that areas of concern are continually addressed.

• Pupils do not have a secure understanding of the school's personal, social and health education curriculum. In particular, knowledge of parliamentary democracy, a wide range of world faiths and the protected characteristics are not embedded among pupils. This limits how well prepared they are to live in, and contribute to, modern British society.