Acorn Free School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 21 January 2025

Pupils thrive at this school. Pupils enjoy attending school and display positive attitudes to learning. Parents and carers are highly supportive of the school. Typical comments from parents include, 'It's been the best opportunity ever for my child,' and 'The staff team provide amazing support.' Pupils behave well. There are respectful relationships between pupils and staff. Staff work well to get to know and understand the pupils. They provide high-quality support to help pupils learn about themselves and how to manage their behaviour. Pupils say that staff listen to them and follow up any concerns they have. Pupils feel safe at school. The school's work supports pupils to regulate their behaviour and engage with learning effectively. Most pupils in key stage 3 integrate back into their mainstream schools successfully. The school has high expectations. The curriculum enables pupils to achieve GCSEs and qualifications in vocational subjects, such as mechanical engineering and photography. Pupils enjoy regular trips to take photographs of landmarks in Lincolnshire. Pupils work hard and achieve well. The courses pupils study at school have helped some of them select courses at colleges for post-16 studies.

What the school should improve

• On a few occasions, teachers do not consistently check whether pupils understand their learning well enough. As a result, pupils are sometimes confused and do not develop their knowledge and understanding as well as they could. The school must ensure that teachers check if pupils understand their learning and use this information to shape the curriculum and teaching to help pupils develop their knowledge and understanding.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)