Smannell Field School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 23 April 2024

Pupils benefit, both academically and personally, from attending Smannell Field School. The school has very high expectations for how pupils will conduct themselves both in lessons and around the school. Pupils know exactly what these expectations are and meet them consistently well. Pupils in Year 11 are clear that being here has helped them to achieve the qualifications they need to fulfil their goals. Pupils trust and respect the adults in the school. They recognise that adults want the best for them. A sense of calm and purpose permeates the school. Pupils feel safe and are clear that showing kindness to each other is important and do so consistently. They are well supported by adults in the school who understand the complexities of their special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. Social times reflect the positive behaviour seen through the rest of the school. During these times, pupils engage well with each other and take part in a range of pursuits such as activities led by the school's sport coach, daily news discussions and various board games. Staff use these times to further develop their positive working relationships with pupils. They take time to get to know the pupils and show compassion and care towards them.

What the school should improve

• The school is developing the approach to careers education. Currently, pupils do not yet develop employability skills as well as they could. The school should now consider how it can create meaningful work experience opportunities, so that pupils are able to build these vital skills over time and be as ready as possible for life beyond school.
• The school is still changing the approach to ensure that pupils develop a love of reading. Currently, beyond their literacy lessons, pupils do not benefit from reading as widely and often as they could. The school needs to continue to refine its strategies to further engage all pupils in reading a wide range of ambitious and rich texts.
• The school is still refining the overall sequencing of some curriculum areas. In these subjects, the expectations for what pupils will learn are not as ambitious as they could be. The school should make sure that staff have the knowledge they need to ensure that curricular thinking is precisely and coherently sequenced across the entire curriculum.

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