Aspire Learning

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 8 May 2024

Pupils enjoy coming to this school because they feel safe and trust that staff will look after them well. Small-group and one-to-one individualised learning enable staff to meet the needs of each pupil, build strong professional relationships and support pupils' learning needs. As a result, pupils who may have typically found it difficult to settle into other school settings are much happier to come to this school than previous schools. Leaders have high expectations for all pupils. Staff work with pupils to help them achieve their personal goals and prepare them for the next stage of their education, training or work. Leaders place a high priority on improving pupils' communication and language skills, including reading and writing. Equally, leaders make sure that all pupils develop their mathematical skills, building step by step on their different starting points. The positive impact of leaders' recent actions can already be seen on pupils' outcomes. Pupils behave well in lessons and in the playground. Staff teach pupils how to understand their emotions so they can express how they are feeling. Staff use visual images with those pupils who do not yet communicate verbally. If pupils show signs that they may be anxious and may struggle emotionally, staff intervene quickly and effectively to support them.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, leaders have not thought through all the key knowledge that they want pupils to know and remember or sequenced the teaching of key content in a way that allows pupils to build on prior knowledge step by step. As a result, pupils do not build knowledge as securely as in other subjects and gaps or misconceptions may arise. The school should ensure that all subjects are equally well thought through and sequenced with clear end points so that pupils build cumulative knowledge equally securely over time.
• The school has not decided equally well how it will assess pupils' learning in all subjects. This means that awareness of whether pupils have understood the key knowledge and skills the school wants them to remember is variable across subjects. The school must ensure that assessment in all subjects enables staff to know whether pupils have secured their understanding of key content before moving on to more complex ideas.

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