Aspire Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 7 December 2022

Aspire Academy is a welcoming and inclusive school. Pupils experience a learning environment that is wellresourced and designed to meet their needs. The school is calm and orderly. Pupils that need help to manage their behaviour are well supported by staff. Leaders ensure that staff have high aspirations for pupils' development. Pupils experience a broad curriculum that meets their academic and individual special educational needs and/or disabilities in the main. Pupils engage with lessons well. Pupils learn about healthy lifestyles and are taught strategies that support their positive mental health. Leaders ensure that pupils experience a wide variety of personal development opportunities. Some pupils have visited other countries, such as Poland and China, to learn about different cultures, for example. Relationships between staff and pupils are highly secure. Pupils are well supported by staff, who listen to their worries or concerns. Most pupils are happy and enjoy coming to school. Pupils say that bullying is not an issue in school. They say that they know staff would deal with it quickly if it were to occur.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of subjects, curriculum plans for key stage 3 pupils are less strong. This means some parts of the key stage 3 curriculum are not as ambitious as the key stage 4 curriculum. Leaders are developing their key stage 3 curriculum to match the strength of the key stage 4 curriculum. Leaders should continue to develop key stage 3 planning to ensure it matches the ambitions that are realised in key stage 4.

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