Budmouth Academy Weymouth

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 19 March 2024

Budmouth Academy's extra-curricular offer is a strength of the school. The majority of pupils take part in the wide range of clubs and activities, including the Combined Cadet Force and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Many pupils take on leadership roles, for example as anti-bullying ambassadors or academy council representatives. This extends to the sixth form, where there is a strong focus on community service. The school's published examination results are below national averages in many areas. The expectations of what pupils should know and be able to do are not consistent. Pupils do not learn consistently well across the curriculum. The school is ambitious for all its pupils, but this ambition does not yet translate into pupils' achievements. Provision in the sixth form is stronger. The school has high expectations of pupils' conduct and the majority of pupils meet these. The school is calm and orderly. High-quality pastoral care means pupils feel safe and well cared for. They have strong relationships with staff. There is a balance between nurture and the effective use of sanctions, which means pupils know what is expected of them and know that a range of trusted adults are available to support them.

What the school should improve

• In a few subjects, leaders have not considered with sufficient precision what pupils need to learn and in what order. This sometimes leads to inconsistencies in how well the curriculum is delivered. As a result, pupils are learning less effectively in these subjects and teachers do not always know what to assess. The trust should ensure that the curriculum is designed and sequenced effectively in all subjects.
• The work and activities that pupils are allocated do not always enable them to acquire new knowledge or build on what they have learned before. As a result, pupils' recall is not secure and gaps in their knowledge persist. This is reflected in published outcomes and pupils' recall about their learning. The trust must ensure that work and learning activities focus on developing pupils' knowledge, so that pupils know and remember more, and achieve more highly.
• The checks on pupils' learning are not used effectively by some teachers to identify gaps in pupils' knowledge. This hinders teachers' ability to address pupils' misconceptions or pick up on any missed learning. This affects pupils with SEND disproportionately. The trust should support teachers to use appropriate assessment strategies which enable pupils to achieve well across the curriculum.

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