St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 25 March 2025

Pupils feel safe and happy at this welcoming, and rapidly improving, school. Staff, pupils, parents and carers agree that the school has improved a great deal in recent years. Although the school's quality of education is improving, pupils do not consistently make enough progress through the curriculum. They do not achieve well enough in public examinations and assessments, particularly at key stage 4. Students in the sixth form receive a more consistent quality of education. The school has heightened its expectations of pupils' behaviour. Most pupils respond to this well. They move around the school calmly. They are polite and respectful to adults and visitors at the school. Most pupils have positive attitudes to learning. While attendance is improving, some pupils do not attend often enough. This has a negative impact on their learning. The school provides a wide range of extra-curricular clubs. For example, pupils have opportunities to broaden their interests and participate in table tennis, gardening, politics and Latin clubs. Pupils also have the opportunity to lead different aspects of the school. For example, pupils participate in diversity committees, which help to ensure that different religions and festivals are celebrated. Sixth-form students act as strong role models and support younger pupils at the school.

What the school should improve

• Recent improvements to the curriculum and the quality of curriculum implementation are beginning to have a positive effect on pupils' learning and achievement. However, outcomes of external examinations and assessments have been poor over time. The school should ensure that improvements in the quality of education pupils receive are reflected in pupils' outcomes at key stage 4, ensuring that pupils are ready for their next steps in education, employment or training.
• Some pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged and those with SEND, do not attend school regularly enough. As a result, these pupils miss too many lessons and do not make enough progress in their learning. They miss out on the wider personal and social development opportunities the school provides. The school should continue to build its culture of high expectations around attendance, especially its work with the families of those pupils who are absent too often
• Some leaders are new to role and are implementing new school improvement initiatives. At this stage in the school's improvement journey, there is some inconsistency in the impact of some leaders' work in different areas of the school's provision. The trust should support leaders at all levels, so that they have the expertise to continue developing and improving the school's provision.

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