Laceyfields Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 11 July 2023

Laceyfields is a happy school. Pupils enjoy attending. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive. Pupils understand the school's values. They know what it means to be responsible, respectful, collaborative, resilient and creative. They know that these values help them to learn and to get along with each other. Outside, pupils enjoy playing together. They describe playtimes as a 'happy time'. Mini leaders take great pride in preparing and running games for others. Pupils thank them and applaud them at the end of lunchtime. Pupils do their best to live up to the school's rules. They know why it is important to be safe, be kind, work hard and be ready to learn. They understand the school's behaviour policy, including the sanctions of reminders, warnings, time out, time away and seeing the headteacher. More importantly, they enjoy earning the positive points that are on offer. Pupils who need help to live up to the school's behavioural expectations are well supported. Staff skilfully cater for these pupils and keep them focused on their learning. Pupils know that everyone should be treated equally. They know what fundamental British values are and why these are important in modern Britain.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, the curriculum shows the skills that pupils are expected to master, but not when. This means that teachers are left to make choices about what is taught and when. As such, leaders cannot be sure that disciplinary knowledge is being taught systematically or in the best order. Leaders should ensure that the skills that pupils learn within the curriculum are fully sequenced.
• Teachers keep a record of when pupils receive 'time out'. However, these records are not detailed enough. They do not give an account of what happened. Additionally, leaders do not routinely check and evaluate these records. This means that they are unable to identify trends and patterns over time. Leaders should ensure that all records of poor behaviour are recorded with sufficient detail and are routinely evaluated.
• Some pupils and parents say that behaviour is not good. Some believe that the school's behaviour policy is not applied consistently. A significant proportion of parents would not recommend the school. Leaders should ensure that they engage further with pupils and parents to understand and address their concerns.

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