Lift Firth Park

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 17 June 2025

Over time, the school's expectations of what pupils should achieve have not been high enough. Pupils have not achieved well in external examinations. Similarly, standards of behaviour have not been high enough. Pupils are starting to benefit from recent improvements. They recognise how these changes are beginning to help them to learn more in lessons. The school has put in place many strategies to support pupils prepare for public examinations. Pupils in key stage 4 value their support sessions. However, there remains more to do to ensure pupils achieve well. The school has increased the expectations it has for pupils' behaviour. Lessons are increasingly calm. This enables pupils to focus on their learning. Pupils value their personal, social and health education. They learn important topics such as how to keep themselves safe, including online. Most pupils feel safe in school and know that they have a trusted adult they can speak with. Pupils' understanding of some important aspects of life in modern Britain are not fully developed. For example, pupils do not have a deep understanding of the protected characteristics. They do not have the required vocabulary to talk about difference appropriately. This can lead to unkind language that occurs too often.

What the school should improve

• Sometimes the activities which teachers use do not help pupils recall and embed their learning. This means that some pupils do not develop a rich body of knowledge. The school should ensure that the activities which teachers choose are well matched to the aims of the curriculum and help pupils acquire and apply deeper knowledge over time so that they achieve well.
• The attendance of some pupils is too low. When not in school, these pupils do not benefit from the improving quality of education that the school provides. The school should strengthen its work with parents and carers, as well as external agencies, to improve the attendance of pupils.
• Some pupils' understanding of the protected characteristics is not developed in sufficient depth. As a result, they are not prepared for life in modern Britain as well as they should be. The school should intensify work to teach pupils about these important aspects and ensure that it addresses instances where pupils' actions undermine this.
• The school has made significant changes to improve many aspects of provision. Although gaining traction, these are in the early stages of development and there remains variance in the experiences of pupils in the school. The school and trust should further embed these important improvements and check their impact.

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