Padgate Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 23 May 2023

Padgate Academy is a caring and welcoming learning environment for pupils. New arrivals to the school, including pupils who speak English as an additional language, are helped by staff to settle in quickly. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), including those who attend the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision), are fully included in all aspects of school life. Leaders have prioritised pupils' learning about tolerance and respect, in order to establish a culture where diversity is valued and celebrated. Pupils are confident to report incidents of harassment to teachers and know that they will be taken seriously. Leaders take effective action to tackle incidents of bullying. This helps most pupils to feel happy and safe in school. Staff have increased their expectations of pupils' attendance, behaviour and achievement. The majority of pupils work hard to meet these high expectations. This is having a positive impact on pupils' learning. Most pupils are prepared well for the next stage of their education or training. Pupils benefit from a rich and diverse range of activities to supplement their learning, including trampolining, design club and creative writing. Pupils positively contribute to the school community through becoming ambassadors for areas such as reading, anti-bullying and pupil well-being, as well as participating in the school council.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, teachers do not check on pupils' learning with sufficient accuracy and rigour. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge which are not identified or addressed quickly enough. Leaders should ensure that they support teachers to use assessment strategies successfully to identify and close gaps in pupils' learning more rapidly.
• Leaders have not sufficiently prioritised identification and support for older pupils who struggle with reading. As a result, some older pupils are not getting the help that they need to develop their reading knowledge so that they keep up with their peers. Leaders should roll out their existing strategies to ensure that older pupils benefit from the same effective systems and processes as those in younger year groups.

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