Queen Katharine Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 25 March 2025

Many pupils enjoy attending school. Staff greet pupils at the entrance each morning to remind them about the schools' expectations of behaviour and learning. This helps pupils to feel safe and to be 'ready to learn'. In lessons, the majority of pupils behave well. However, the school has not ensured that a significant minority of pupils consistently behave with respect for adults and other pupils. Around the school, particularly in social times, too many pupils behave in a way that leaves other pupils feeling afraid or unsafe. Despite this, pupils are safe in this school. New leaders in place acknowledge that there is significant work to be done to address bullying in the school. While staff encourage pupils to report instances of bullying, many pupils do not do this because they do not have the confidence that staff will deal with the issues that arise. The curriculum has been recently reviewed. It sets out clearly what pupils need to know and when they need to know it. However, the teaching does not align to the ambition of the curriculum. Pupils do not develop a secure understanding of the subjects they study. As a result, most pupils do not achieve well. 'Pupil leaders' are proud of the work they do to improve the school for others. They value the opportunity to fundraise, work within the local community and to raise awareness of environmental issues with their peers.

What the school should improve

• Weaknesses in leadership over time have led to a decline in standards. New leaders are addressing this but the changes being implemented are very new and the differences they are making has not been fully realised. The school should continue to make the necessary changes, including develop staff expertise so standards are raised, particularly in behaviour, learning attitudes and achievement.
• Aside from sixth form, too much teaching does not precisely meet the needs of pupils throughout the school. This is because teachers do not consistently apply the right strategies or use assessment effectively enough to be able to identify what pupils know and need to learn next. As a result, over time, pupils have underachieved and continue to do so in most cases. The school should ensure that teachers are supported and well equipped to choose the right teaching strategies that precisely meet the needs of pupils. Teachers also need support to develop their expertise to be able to effectively use assessment to identify and close gaps in what pupils know.
• Many pupils with SEND do not have the appropriate adaptations made to learning they require. This prevents them from fully accessing the curriculum and achieving well. The school needs to identify the adaptions required and implement these effectively for every pupil with SEND. This is so that the needs of all pupils with SEND are met, and they are able to fully access learning to be successful.
• Systems for managing behaviour are very new and are currently not used consistently well across the school. As a result, there are a significant minority of pupils who do not behave well. This leads to pupils not always feeling safe around the school. The school needs to ensure the behaviour systems are consistently used so that behaviour is managed well by all staff to create an environment where pupils feel safe
• The school does not actively promote the broad range of experiences beyond the curriculum that are on offer well enough. As a result, only a small proportion of pupils engage with the wealth of enrichment opportunities on offer. The school needs to work with pupils to encourage pupils to engage with activities beyond lessons, to support them to further develop their varied talents and interests.

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