New Waltham Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 28 June 2022

New Waltham Academy is a friendly, fun and welcoming place. Pupils feel safe, happy and enjoy their learning. Leaders have high expectations for every pupil, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils know that staff want them to do their best. Pupils work hard and want to do well. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. One parent's comment captured the thoughts of many others, 'children are encouraged to be kind, inclusive and work as a community.' Pupils behave well in lessons, as they move around school and outside at breaktimes. Bullying is rare, but if it does happen then pupils are confident that staff deal with it quickly. Pupils are polite and respectful. They understand that the school values are important and try hard to demonstrate these. They look forward to assemblies when staff recognise and celebrate their achievements. Pupils wear their awarded stars and ambassador badges with pride. Pupils enjoy a range of trips, clubs and taking part in events such as swimming galas. They feel that the adventurous activities they tackle on residential trips help them to become braver, take risks and try new things. Older pupils take full advantage of the opportunities to be young leaders. They talk with confidence about their responsibilities as school councillors, empathy heroes, play-makers or team captains.

What the school should improve

• Curriculum plans in some subjects do not fully detail the subject knowledge that pupils should acquire. This means that teachers are unclear about the precise knowledge that they should teach, and that pupils should know and remember over time. Leaders should continue their work to establish an ambitious and well- planned curriculum in all subject areas. It is clear from leaders' actions that they are in the process of making these changes. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied.
• The systems for assessing what pupils know and remember over time are not fully developed in some subjects. In these subjects, gaps in pupils' knowledge are not consistently identified. Leaders should ensure that there is a consistent approach to the use of assessment so that teachers can identify and address any gaps in pupils' knowledge.

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