Sherwood Church Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 20 May 2025

Warm and respectful relationships exist between staff and pupils in this school. Since the last inspection, pupils' behaviour has improved. The majority of pupils behave well during structured lesson times and sensibly during unstructured times, such as breaktimes and lunchtime. Pupils feel happy and safe at this school and are typically respectful towards each other. They feel confident to report any concerns about bullying they have to adults. While expectations for pupils' behaviour have increased, expectations for pupils' achievement, particularly at key stages 3 and 4, are not high enough and some pupils do not achieve as well as they should. Pupils' experience and learning in the classroom from Year 7 to Year 11 are too variable. In the sixth form, students experience a better quality of education and staff expectations of what students need to know and can do are higher. The school places a strong emphasis on pupils' personal development. This includes mental health and well-being. Pupils learn to stay safe, to understand what constitutes healthy relationships and to appreciate diversity and different faiths. Pupils can participate in many clubs and extra-curricular activities, including bushcraft, fencing, the combined cadet force, and musical performances. These opportunities nurture pupils' talents and interests.

What the school should improve

• The school's curriculum is not implemented consistently well. Some teachers do not adapt what they teach in response to what pupils already know. They do not check pupils' understanding effectively. This means that, sometimes, pupils do not build on secure prior learning and do not develop the detailed knowledge they need to achieve well. This hinders how well some pupils learn and achieve. The school should ensure that teachers understand how to implement the curriculum consistently well, including that staff develop their knowledge of adaptive approaches, so that pupils embed knowledge securely and can apply it fluently, and that staff effectively check that this knowledge is secure.
• Teachers do not have consistently high enough expectations of the quality of work that pupils in key stages 3 and 4 produce This is reflected in the accuracy and care of pupils' written work. The school should ensure that teachers have consistently high expectations of all pupils and that pupils produce work to the best quality of which they are capable.
• The school's revised SEND offer is still in its early stages of implementation. This means some pupils with SEND do not receive the full support they need to succeed. Teachers do not adapt lessons well enough. The school must make sure that staff have the knowledge and skills they need to support pupils with SEND, so that these pupils can achieve well and be successful in all aspects of school life.
• Rates of persistent absenteeism, although improving, are still too high, particularly for the most vulnerable pupils in school. Some pupils miss too much of the curriculum and this leads to gaps in their knowledge. The school should continue to ensure that the strategies used to support pupils' attendance help overcome any barriers that they face. The school should make sure that pupils' attendance continues to improve.
• Trustees do not have a strong enough awareness and oversight of the school. While there have been very recent and substantive changes to the executive board, members do not provide leaders with enough support and challenge. Some of the improvements leaders have enacted have been implemented too slowly, particularly in relation to the quality of education pupils receive. The school should ensure that leaders have an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses so that issues can be addressed swiftly. The school should also ensure that leaders, including those responsible for governance, are held to account for the improvements that need to be made.

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