Compass Community School Essex

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 10 December 2024

Pupils arrive at Compass with many previous negative experiences of education. Pupils value staff taking the time to understand them and their specific needs. This helps pupils to build their confidence and resilience so they can quickly settle into the life of the school. The school has high expectations of pupils. Clearly established routines ensure pupils understand what staff expect from them. Staff consistently reinforce these. Should a pupil need help to manage their feelings and emotions, well-trained staff support them to do this. This helps pupils to improve their behaviour. Typically, pupils work hard to reach the high expectations staff have of them. Pupils build on what they learn in lessons through the many extra-curricular opportunities the school provides them. Trips to places such as the science museum or the Houses of Parliament provide pupils with exciting new experiences. These trips also teach pupils how to behave when using public transport. Pupils value the way the school helps them to develop existing talents and spark new interests. Whether learning to horse ride, play the drums or practise their sketching, pupils look forward to these as highlights of their week. This in turn ignites pupils' aspirations for their future.

What the school should improve

• In a few subjects the school has not clearly identified some of the important knowledge pupils need to learn. In these subjects, the school has also not identified the qualifications they would like most pupils to achieve. Some pupils do not develop as full an understanding of the curriculum in these subjects as they do in others or have the same opportunities to achieve qualifications or awards. The school needs to clearly identify the important knowledge pupils will learn over time in these subjects including, where appropriate, the qualification pathways open to pupils.
• Sometimes, teaching does not use assessment to inform and adapt learning. This can mean some pupils do not get opportunities to revisit learning while others do not move onto new content when they are ready. The school should ensure that staff understand how to use assessment to inform future teaching choices.

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