Bede Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 30 April 2024

Pupils in all phases enjoy coming to school. They are proud to attend Bede Academy. They feel cared for and valued. Attendance is high. Pupils feel that bullying is rare and is dealt with effectively. Leaders, staff and pupils are rightfully proud of their work to help place the school at the heart of the community. The core virtues adopted by the school , love, wisdom, fairness, self-control, courage, humility and integrity , are more than just words on posters; they are virtues that adults demonstrate daily and strive to nurture in all pupils. There is a resolute belief that all pupils can make a positive difference, no matter what challenges they currently face. Expectations of what pupils can achieve are high. In the primary phase, pupils achieve very well in all subjects. In the secondary phase and sixth form, pupils and students do not achieve as highly. In the secondary phase, behaviour is not consistently good. Low-level disruption in lessons is not always dealt with effectively. This impacts negatively on the learning of others. At social times, and during lesson changeover, pupils do not always behave as well as leaders expect. Some pupils say this makes them feel uncomfortable, although they stress that they do feel safe. Behaviour is more settled in areas of the school where staff are present and supervising pupils more closely.

What the school should improve

• The new behaviour policy is not consistently applied by some staff in the secondary phase. This contributes to unsettled behaviour in some lessons. This impacts on how well pupils can learn. The school should ensure that all staff know, understand and use the new behaviour policy consistently and effectively to help pupils behave well.
• A minority of younger pupils in the secondary phase find it very challenging to meet the school's behaviour expectations. Steps taken to help these pupils behave as expected have had limited impact. They have been suspended from school on multiple occasions. The school should evaluate the approaches used to support these pupils and make necessary changes so that they improve their behaviour and are subject to fewer suspensions over time.
• Some pupils who join the school in Year 7 need additional support with their reading, but they do not receive it. These pupils do not improve their reading fluency and comprehension as swiftly as they could. The school should ensure that these pupils receive appropriate reading interventions and support to help improve their reading and enable them to access and do well across the full curriculum.
• The primary phase PSHE curriculum has undergone frequent changes over the last two years. This has contributed to some gaps in pupils' knowledge. The school should ensure that the primary-phase PHSE curriculum clearly identifies the knowledge that pupils need to learn at each stage and carefully considers how gaps in existing knowledge will be addressed.

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