Phoenix Bay School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 30 April 2024

Pupils are at the heart of Phoenix Bay School. They thrive because the school is determined for them to achieve the very best. Pupils describe the significant impact the school has on them. They say that they would be on a very different path now if they did not attend this school. Parents say that the school fully understands the needs of their children. They agree that it goes above and beyond to ensure that their children get the education they deserve; something they thought was very unlikely before attending Phoenix Bay. Following significant periods of disengagement with learning, pupils now want to be in school and they appreciate the value of learning. Pupils get the time, space and support that they need to understand their barriers to education. Staff are skilled in giving pupils the strategies they need to be successful and become confident, self- aware individuals with aspirations for their future. There are high expectations of pupils from the very start. Pupils strive to meet these because of strong and trusted relationships with staff. Pupils value how well staff know them. They feel safe and cared for. Pupils' conduct and the way they respond to challenges and interactions with others have significantly improved from their previous experiences. This is because of the very successful wider development offer.

What the school should improve

• In some areas of the curriculum, there is not enough clarity and specificity of the most important knowledge that pupils need to learn and remember. Furthermore, there is not a clear progression between the curriculum at key stage 3 and key stage 4. This limits the progress some pupils make. The school must ensure that the curriculum clearly identifies the important knowledge it wants pupils to learn at each key stage and strengthen how they check pupils' progress.
• Those responsible for governance do not provide sufficient challenge to strengthen the academic offer that pupils get. As a result, they do not hold the most accurate overview of the quality of education, and leaders are not always held to account for the impact they make in their areas of responsibility. This leads to unnecessary workload and a lack of clarity about what is making a difference to pupils' education. The proprietor must work with those responsible for governance to ensure that leaders get the necessary challenge of and support in their areas of responsibility to increase the impact of their decisions and actions on pupils' education.

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