George Salter Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 23 May 2023

Pupils and students value the way school life is about much more than lessons. Most enjoy being in school and are keen to meet the high expectations staff have of their behaviour, learning and personal development. Pupils are achieving increasingly better outcomes. There is a calm atmosphere in lessons and almost all pupils happily focus on their learning activities. At social times, and as they move around the school, pupils manage themselves well. As one pupil put it, 'most people get it right most of the time'. Pupils value diversity and embrace the school's ethos of 'one world in one school'. They enjoyed sharing their own cultural backgrounds on 'culture day'. Pupils say they encounter little discriminatory language, but if it does occur, staff deal with it promptly. Through the Salter Scholar programme, all pupils access an impressive range of opportunities which support their character development. These include trips and visits, inspirational speakers and supporting the local community. For example, student sports leaders help to run a netball tournament for key stage 2 pupils from local primary schools. Pupils graduate from the Salter Scholar programme by completing activities linked to key character traits. Many pupils proudly achieve this.

What the school should improve

• Leaders have identified appropriate strategies to support pupils with SEND to access their learning. However, teachers do not consistently use these strategies across the curriculum. This means that some pupils with SEND are not making the progress they could in all subjects. Leaders should ensure that all teachers are confident in using these strategies to adapt learning in their lessons.
• The reading strategy is in the early stages of implementation. Leaders are not monitoring its delivery closely enough to identify ways in which it could be improved. This means that some pupils are not improving their reading quickly enough. Leaders should evaluate each part of the strategy more carefully so that they have a clear understanding of the actions required to maximise its impact on pupils' reading.

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