Boldon School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 18 February 2025

Boldon School is improving. It is a school that is working in a context that provides many challenges. These include the ongoing impact of the pandemic and a number of changes to leadership in recent years. Consequently, this has hindered the school's plans for improvement, and pupils have not achieved as well as they should. However, recently- appointed leaders are skilled and committed to the school. They have provided stability and increased expectations for pupils' achievement. The school provides its pupils with high-quality pastoral care. Staff care deeply for pupils, and they support them well. Parents and carers appreciate this. Pupils are safe and happy here. Most pupils behave well. However, some pupils cause disruption, and this impacts on the learning of others. Pupils enjoy the opportunities to develop their interests and talents. They take part in sports teams and a range of clubs, such as creative writing, first aid and gardening. The 'Pride Collective' is a supportive group for pupils who identify as LGBTQ+ and their allies. Many pupils contributed to the recent school production of 'Shrek' by performing, making the set and assisting front of house.

What the school should improve

• Teachers do not always identify pupils' misconceptions and gaps in knowledge. This means some pupils are not learning and remembering the curriculum as well as they could. The school should ensure that teachers check and address gaps in pupils' knowledge, so they learn and remember key knowledge securely over time.
• The school's reading strategy is underdeveloped. As a result, there are some pupils who are not receiving the support they need to be able to access the curriculum securely, and there is further work needed to embed a wider culture of reading throughout the school. The school should ensure that it quickly identifies and supports all weaker readers and ensure that staff are trained to deliver and embed its reading strategy, both for these key pupils and across the school.
• Despite efforts to improve attendance, levels of absence are high, particularly for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. These pupils miss significant learning opportunities, which affects their academic progress and wider development. The school should develop the way it tracks and analyses attendance and use this to intensify its efforts to improve attendance.
• Some staff do not apply the school's behaviour policy consistently. When this happens, some pupils disengage from their learning and, in some cases, low level disruption occurs. The school should ensure that all staff receive the support needed to understand and apply the school's behaviour policy consistently.

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