Lift New Rickstones

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 8 November 2023

At New Rickstones Academy, pupils display positive attitudes towards their education. They talk animatedly about how their school continues to improve. They enjoy their lessons and often feel challenged by their work. Pupils have lots of opportunities to develop their skills and interests outside of lessons. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics club and sports such as table tennis and football are particularly popular. The atmosphere throughout the school is orderly. Pupils are polite and friendly. They move around the site in a calm and sensible manner. In lessons, they maintain high levels of concentration. Pupils very rarely disrupt each other's learning. They enjoy learning about diversity and differences and are very respectful of others. Pupils know that if anyone did or said anything inappropriate, adults would deal with it immediately. Pupils love that 'our school is somewhere that you can be yourself'. Students in the sixth form are well supported by adults. They benefit from lessons that are well planned to help them do well. Students feel that the careers guidance they receive, both in sixth form and earlier, is very helpful in preparing them for their future. They particularly enjoyed their work experience opportunity in Year 12.

What the school should improve

• A few teachers are not sufficiently well trained to deliver the ambition of the new key stage 3 curriculum. They do not always have the knowledge to plan and deliver lessons that are suitably ambitious for all pupils. Leaders need to ensure that all staff are appropriately supported and trained to deliver the full ambition of the curriculum, so all pupils achieve highly.
• A minority of teachers do not effectively adapt their teaching when gaps in pupils' knowledge or understanding have been identified. They do not provide pupils with targeted opportunities to get better in areas that they have struggled in. This means that, over time, some pupils do not meet the aims of the curriculum. The school needs to ensure that where gaps in knowledge or skills are identified, staff are skilled in providing pupils with appropriate activities to improve.

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