Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 October 2023

Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy (OSCA) staff and pupils share the same high ambitions. Pupils understand and follow the 'Team OSCA' values of 'opportunity, scholarship, compassion, aspiration'. Pupils speak positively about the support they receive. Pupils are happy and safe. Typical parental comments include: 'changes that have been made over the last few months have shown how great OSCA is'. Most pupils show respectful and positive behaviours during structured lesson times. However, pupils who spoke to inspectors said that poor behaviour still affects some lessons. During unstructured times, such as breaks and lunch, most pupils behave sensibly. Where pupils' behaviour is not acceptable, staff speak with these pupils to explain the school's high expectations. Staff act quickly and efficiently to address any behaviour issues. OSCA places a strong emphasis on pupils' personal development. Year 11 pupils on the leadership team are proud to support others. Year 10 prefects actively promote a positive environment. These roles help pupils understand how to be responsible. The extra- curricular programme is rich and diverse. Pupils take part in a range of clubs such as sports, cooking and 'mech-tech'. Pupils value being able to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme and school productions.

What the school should improve

• Some pupils do not behave well enough during structured lesson times. This can disrupt the learning of others. The school should continue to raise expectations for pupils' behaviour throughout the school community to ensure that all pupils have a consistently positive experience of their learning.
• Some teachers do not use assessments well enough to check pupils' understanding or identify gaps in their learning. Therefore, pupils' gaps in learning are not addressed and they struggle to build on what they know. Leaders should ensure that all teachers use assessment consistently to identify and address any gaps in pupils' learning so pupils can progress well across the curriculum.
• The school has not fully developed effective systems to support pupils who are not confident readers. Also, many pupils do not read widely and regularly in school and at home. Therefore, pupils who need support are not making rapid progress with their phonics, grammar and comprehension and, more widely, pupils are not developing their reading as well as they might. The school should further and rapidly embed the current reading strategy to support all pupils who are not confident readers. It should also monitor and support pupils and parents in engaging with regular and wider reading.

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