Compass Community School Aylward Park

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 8 July 2025

Pupils feel safe and valued at this small, nurturing school. Strong, respectful relationships underpin all aspects of school life and help pupils to make a fresh start. Staff understand the individual needs of every pupil and are skilled in helping them feel settled, secure and ready to learn. Staff provide the care and help that ensures pupils feel happy. Expectations for pupils are high. Staff encourage and support pupils to take part successfully in learning, trips and work experience. Lessons provide new knowledge and skills, taught in easy-to-understand ways. Pupils quickly come to see that they can achieve. They grow in confidence and make progress, from catching up with reading to achieving a range of appropriate qualifications, including GCSEs. The school is calm and purposeful. Staff use consistent approaches to support pupils to manage their emotions and behaviour. Pupils feel included and listened to. They understand right from wrong and show kindness to one another. School life includes shared meals, regular visits to the park and adventures further afield. Assemblies and form times provide opportunities for pupils to learn social skills. They celebrate each other's achievements and learn about the wider world. This supports pupils to develop a sense of belonging.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the school has not ensured that staff are supported to have the necessary confidence and subject knowledge to deliver the curriculum as intended. This means that pupils' learning experiences are variable and, occasionally, lessons do not support pupils to learn all that they could. The school should support staff to develop the necessary subject expertise to deliver the intended curriculums confidently and effectively.
• The school's new assessment systems are not fully embedded. This occasionally limits leaders' evaluation of how effectively teaching is building pupils' knowledge in every subject. The school should embed its new assessment and monitoring systems so it gains more understanding of curriculum impact. This will support more targeted improvement work and help ensure all pupils build knowledge securely.

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