Cedars Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 8 October 2024

Pupils feel safe and love coming to this vibrant, busy school. The school's 'PRIDE' values of purpose, respect, independence, determination and equality are understood and lived by all. There is an impressive culture of inclusion. Every pupil is highly valued and staff go above and beyond to make sure everybody feels safe, supported and respected. Staff know pupils exceptionally well and are particularly skilled at supporting their emotional health. This results in relationships in school being highly positive. The school has high expectations of what pupils can achieve. Teachers insist that work in books is of high quality. Their work shows that pupils listen, take care and strive to do their best. Pupils are courteous; they treat one another with respect. Pupils conduct themselves well. If pupils have any difficulties, staff resolve them quickly. Pupils are proud of their school and are rarely absent. There is no tolerance for absence here; staff work tirelessly to ensure pupils come to school as often as possible. Pupils' absence has reduced steadily in recent years.

What the school should improve

• The school has worked hard to build retrieval practice into lessons and this is proving effective. However, in a small number of subjects, this is not done as effectively, and pupils do not retain key knowledge securely. The school should ensure that the strong retrieval practice seen in most subjects is equally effective in all subjects so that pupils know and remember more across the curriculum.
• Sometimes, pupils lose focus in lessons because teachers have not ensured that pupils are clear about the purpose of their work. This means that their learning is not maximised. The school should ensure pupils know the purpose and value of what they are learning in order to help them remain engaged and demonstrate positive attitudes in lessons.

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