Helme Church of England Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 14 July 2026

Helme Church of England Academy is a happy, safe and welcoming school. Pupils feel a sense of belonging and they are proud of their school. This includes children in the early years. Pupils want to be at school and they attend well. The school’s Christian character is woven within all aspects of school life. It supports pupils to understand the importance of diversity and respect. Pupils behave impeccably. They have warm, friendly relationships with one another and with staff. Bullying happens very rarely. If it does, pupils are confident that staff will deal with it quickly and effectively. Pupils enjoy learning at the school. They have high aspirations that are underpinned by the school’s values of ‘dream, believe, achieve’. Pupils generally achieve well. Many pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They appreciate the way in which staff support them to access all aspects of day-to-day life in school and to thrive. Pupils benefit from a range of enrichment opportunities at the school. They enjoy educational visits that help them to understand and experience the world beyond Helme. For example, Year 4 pupils recently visited a nearby university alongside pupils from a local partner school. Pupils value the extra-curricular clubs that the school offers them. Many pupils participate in these activities. Similarly, there are a number of leadership opportunities for pupils at the school. These include digital leaders, collective worship leaders, pupil librarians, dance leaders and the school council. Pupils speak proudly of the way in which they are able to lead aspects of the school’s provision through these roles. For example, digital leaders recently led the organisation of the school’s safer internet day.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should further embed strategies to ensure that staff teach the curriculum consistently well across all subjects and year groups, and that this leads to consistently above-average attainment for pupils in national tests.
• Leaders should further develop their systems to ensure that the opportunities and experiences of all pupils who face barriers to their learning are consistently enhanced.
• Leaders should ensure that the personal, social and health education curriculum supports pupils to develop secure and detailed knowledge across all aspects of this area.

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