Lift Hall Road

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 5 March 2024

Hall Road Academy is inclusive and welcoming. A strong sense of community is at the heart of decision-making. This means that pupils and families get any support they need. Pupils value the staff, particularly the pastoral team. They call them 'superheroes'. Pupils know and follow the '3Bs': be ready, be respectful and be safe. They value the certificates they earn for good behaviour. Pupils say this encourages them to behave well. They want to avoid getting yellow or red cards. Some pupils get extra help from staff to support their behaviour. This helps them to regulate their behaviour and emotions. Leaders at all levels have a clear vision for what the school should be for its pupils. They have recently changed the curriculum to make it more ambitious for all. Pupils enjoy learning and achieve well. Relationships between staff and pupils are strong. Pupils feel safe. They are not afraid to ask for help. Bullying is rare, but if it does happen, pupils say staff would sort it. Pupils understand the need to attend school. They look forward to visiting Buzz's store to spend their attendance tokens. Older pupils look forward to the school trips to Edinburgh and London. Pupils have the chance to get involved in school life, such as being assembly monitors or part of the eco-council.

What the school should improve

• Much of the work on the school's curriculum has been recent. In a few foundation subjects, the school has not yet had sufficient opportunity to fully evaluate how these plans reflect their local community. This means that opportunities to enhance the curriculum to reflect the local area are yet to happen. The school should develop a strategic programme of opportunities for all pupils to enrich and develop the curriculum through their local community.
• In some areas of learning in the early years, the curriculum does not make clear the most important vocabulary that children should know and remember by the end of Reception. This means that as pupils move on into key stage 1, they are not as well prepared for learning as they could be. The school should ensure that the most important vocabulary that children need to learn in all areas of learning in the early years is clearly identified and followed to better support pupils' transition into key stage 1.

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