Kidgate Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 12 November 2024

Pupils enjoy coming to school each day. They talk about the positive relationships they have with staff and one another. Pupils learn in calm classrooms. They take pride in their work. Children in the early years take great pleasure in celebrating the achievements of their peers. While improving, particularly more recently, the quality of education that the school provides is not good enough. Pupils do not achieve as well as they should. However, the school is rapidly improving. Recently, the school has raised the expectations of all pupils. Staff are dedicated and caring. The curriculum has been redesigned. Pupils are now learning and remembering more of what they study. The school provides a wide range of opportunities to broaden pupils' horizons. Pupils learn about other religions through visits to places of worship including mosques and churches. They visit the local art gallery, an outdoor education centre and a wildlife park. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are fully involved in school life. The school helps pupils to develop their social skills and to use sophisticated vocabulary to express their emotions. Pupils can engage in intelligent discussion about sensitive mental health issues. They understand how to look after their own health and how to keep themselves safe.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of subjects, the curriculum does not clearly identify the important knowledge that pupils should learn. As a result, pupils do not have secure knowledge of the subjects that they study. The school should ensure that the curriculum in all subjects identifies what pupils should learn and when so that pupils can build their knowledge.
• In some subjects, assessment systems are new. This means that teachers do not systematically check pupils' learning over time or address gaps in pupils' knowledge. The school should ensure that new assessment systems are embedded and staff have the information they need to help pupils to address gaps and misconceptions in their understanding.
• Until recently, the school has not given enough consideration to staff workload and well-being. As a result, staff have been unable to perform their roles effectively, for example as subject leaders designing and refining curriculums. The school should ensure that staff have the time and support they need to fulfil their roles.
• Until recently, the school has failed to check sufficiently well all aspects of the provision. Consequently, this has previously prevented the school from identifying what needs to improve, to bring about the necessary improvements in the quality of education. The school should ensure that the monitoring and evaluation systems that have been developed recently are enacted and embedded, so that improvements can be made.

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