Peak Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 7 May 2025

The Peak Academy aspires for pupils to increase their self-worth and learn how to 'thrive in society'. It is a place where pupils re-engage with their education and contribute to their community. This reflects the school's values, which include trust, respect, care and independence. The school is ambitious for its pupils and staff want them to do well. However, the quality of education is not currently good. Some pupils do not remember the knowledge they have been taught, which slows the progress they make through the curriculum. Too many pupils do not attend school well enough and therefore are missing out on their education. The school has high expectations for how pupils will behave and what they will achieve and typically pupils achieve well from often low starting points. Pupils know what is expected of them during lessons and social times. Any conflicts are calmed quickly. Pupils learn how to respect themselves, each other and adults. The school offers strong pastoral support to pupils. Pupils enjoy warm relationships with adults and soon develop a sense of belonging. Pupils get the care and support they need to overcome challenges. They are confident that they can share any worries or concerns. Pupils trust that the school will listen and act promptly. This helps them to feel safe.

What the school should improve

• Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. As a result, these pupils do not build their knowledge well over time and have gaps in their learning. The trust needs to continue to modify and implement the attendance strategy and work with families to ensure that pupils attend regularly to enable them to learn more successfully over time.
• In some subjects the curriculum is not designed well enough to enable pupils to remember the most important knowledge over time. In these subjects, pupils find it more difficult to build on their prior learning. The trust should ensure that the curriculum in all subjects is designed to ensure the most important knowledge is remembered over time by pupils to support their subsequent learning.
• The curriculum for writing is less well developed than in other subjects. Some pupils have not secured the fundamentals of writing that they need to be ready for later work. The trust should ensure that the writing curriculum is securely in place so that pupils achieve the best possible outcomes in writing, including their handwriting.

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