Westbourne Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Since returning from the COVID-19 pandemic pupils have experienced a period of turbulence.

During this time, their learning was disrupted by poor behaviour, which included not attending lessons. However, pupils value the new clear expectations and consequences trust leaders have brought in to address this. This is rapidly changing their experience to be much more positive.

Pupils can now typically learn without disruption. Any missed learning is now rare.

Pupils have benefited from changes to the curriculum.

These have made it broad and more ambitious. For example, pupils now have the option to study triple science. They have also benefited from how ...leaders have developed teaching.

Pupils now get the support they need from teachers to close any gaps in their knowledge. They also recall and retain important information much more consistently and produce higher quality work.

Pupils value specified trusted adults and the range of staff who are on hand to support with worries and concerns.

This helps pupils to be happy and safe because pastoral support is a real strength of the school.

Pupils participate in a range of enrichment activities, including cadets. These activities help them to develop their interests and social bonds well.

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

The trust recognised that standards of education and behaviour significantly declined following the return from the pandemic. Parents also picked up on this and their view of the school declined. The trust took all steps that could be reasonably expected to identify and address this.

This included adding significant extra trust leadership capacity to support the school. However, some of these steps took time to work through, so pupils have not achieved as well as they might in 2023 examinations.

Leaders have developed the curriculum to ensure it is both broad and more ambitious.

The uptake of subjects that make up the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) is increasing. This is providing more pupils with a foundation for future academic study. Pupils cover the full range of national curriculum subjects.

The trust has worked with the school to ensure that the knowledge pupils learn in each subject prepares pupils well for post-16 education.

Leaders have implemented an effective programme of training and support to raise standards of teaching. This has included the introduction of consistent approaches to assessment and how teachers revisit and connect previous learning.

Teachers address any misconceptions pupils have and close any gaps in their knowledge well. The trust has also reduced reliance on temporary teaching, which has aided this further.

Support staff are very knowledgeable about working with pupils with higher levels of special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

They enable them to access the curriculum well. However, some teachers do not use the information they have about other pupils with SEND needs precisely enough. They do not always make the changes to learning pupils need, to enable them to achieve as well as they might.

The school has ensured that pupils at the earlier stages of learning to read get precise support to help them catch up. However, the school has not developed a widespread love of reading.

The trust has taken decisive action to address unacceptable standards of behaviour and internal truancy.

Pupils understand teachers' raised expectations and are clear about consequences. Nevertheless, some pupils still do not behave well enough around the school site and to a much lesser extent in lessons. This is because the new 'warm but strict' approach to promoting good behaviour, which is having a successful impact, is at an early stage.

The school is taking effective action to raise levels of attendance, working effectively with families to address causes of absence. Although this is improving attendance, rates are still slightly below national averages, so some pupils are still missing more learning than they should.

The school has put in place an effective and coherent approach to promoting personal development.

Pupils learn about how to stay safe in relation to risks, including gangs and knife crime. They also learn age-appropriate information about relationships and important issues such as consent. Social development is promoted well through inter-house competitions, such as sports day.

Careers education is well promoted through fayres, one-to-one meetings and workshops. Pupils are supported to make informed choices about their next steps.

Trustees know the needs of the school precisely.

They work highly effectively with trust leaders to raise standards. Staff feel that recent changes have impacted on workload and well-being, but they see why they have been needed.

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 has not ensured that some pupils behave well enough around the school site and to a much lesser extent in lessons. This means that some pupils are not respectful enough or do not take enough responsibility for their own conduct, including being on time and attending well, which in turn impacts on how well they achieve because they miss important learning. The school needs to ensure that all staff follow the new 'warm but strict' behaviour policy consistently, both within lessons and around the school site, so that positive and respectful behaviour, which includes being on time and attending well, becomes the norm.

• Some teachers do not make use of the information that they have about the needs of pupils with SEND in order to make precise enough adaptations for them. This means that, on occasions, pupils with SEND do not get enough support to be able to access and understand important knowledge well enough. The school need to ensure that all teachers use the information they are given regarding pupils with SEND, to make precise adaptations to learning so that pupils with SEND consistently get the support they need to achieve well.

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