Rockwood Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 29 April 2025

Rockwood Academy is a productive and inclusive place of learning. Staff are caring and nurturing. Pupils are happy. The school has high ambitions for pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). New leaders and the trust have effective strategies in place to ensure that pupils now meet these high ambitions. Pupils respond very well to the school's high expectations of them. This is evident in many pupils' learning and their positive behaviour. Pupils get along well with each other and staff. Pupils are confident that there is a member of staff to speak to if they are ever worried. Positive relationships further underpin this work. Pupils experience a strong provision to enhance their personal and character development. They learn about career paths and important life lessons about equality, healthy relationships, personal safety and life in modern British society. They have a strong sense of right and wrong and state that all people are equal. Pupils hugely value these lessons. As a result, they are very well prepared for life in modern Britain.

What the school should improve

• Some staff do not effectively adapt their teaching to address misconceptions swiftly enough, or, conversely, move learning on when pupils are ready to learn new things. This hampers some pupils' learning. The school should ensure that all staff have the expertise to support pupils' learning effectively.
• A significant number of pupils are persistently absent from school. As a result, these pupils miss valuable learning time. The school should ensure that they re-engage those families in education and school so that pupils attend more frequently.

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