St Andrew's Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 16 July 2024

Pupils are warmly welcomed and well cared for at St Andrew's Academy. They enjoy attending this very supportive school. Pupils say that they are safe and happy. Parents and carers are very positive about the school. One parent reflected the views of others when they said, 'the staff go above and beyond in this transformative school. I could not have asked for a better place for my child.' Staff know the pupils well. Relationships are very positive. Pupils know staff will support them to learn and keep them safe. All the staff at the school are highly trained. They are very skilled in meeting the pupils' complex needs. Staff model the kindness and respect they want pupils to show. As a result, pupils are polite and considerate of each other. Pupils engage well with their learning. They have positive attitudes to their education and socialise well with each other. Pupils are certain that staff will help them with any troubles they may have in their friendship groups. The 'Learning for Life' programme provides some excellent opportunities to prepare pupils for life beyond school. Staff have high ambitions for all pupils and want the very best outcomes for them.

What the school should improve

• The new mathematics curriculum is not yet fully embedded. As a result, teachers have not always taught the exact knowledge and skills in the order they should have. Pupils are encountering mathematical processes before they have secured the underpinning number skills they need to be successful. This can limit how well they develop their understanding of mathematical concepts. The school should ensure that the implementation of the new mathematics curriculum enables all pupils to build their mathematical knowledge and skills successfully.
• There is some inconsistency regarding the school's ambition for a 'total communication approach'. Not all pupils have communication profiles. Not all benefit from the use of visual representations. On occasions, staff do not take advantage of opportunities to develop pupils' communication skills. The work on pupils' understanding of vocabulary through 'colourful semantics' is in its early stages. As a consequence, for some pupils, their communication skills do not develop as quickly as they might. The school should ensure that the 'total communication approach' is known, understood and practised by all staff, and that every opportunity is taken advantage of to develop pupils' communication skills consistently.

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