St Margaret's Church of England Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 30 April 2024

Pupils, and students in the sixth form, are proud to be part of St Margaret's Church of England Academy. They enjoy strong relationships with their teachers and other staff. Pupils feel safe when they are in school. They know who to speak to if they are worried or upset. The school is ambitious for pupils to succeed. Pupils are increasingly benefiting from the improvements that the school has made to the quality of education that it provides. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), progress well through the curriculum in most subjects. Pupils' behaviour during breaktimes and when moving between lessons is generally calm. In lessons pupils listen respectfully to their teachers and to each other. The school provides a wide range of opportunities to promote pupils' personal development. Pupils are encouraged to be increasingly independent as learners. They are helped to understand the wider world. Many pupils benefit from a wide range of sporting, music and other enrichment activities. Students in the sixth form are excellent role models for younger pupils.

What the school should improve

• In a small number of subjects, in key stages 3 and 4, some teachers do not choose the most suitable techniques to help pupils understand subject content. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge and understanding. This hinders how well they progress through the curriculum. The school should ensure that, in these subjects, teachers are fully equipped to deliver curriculum content consistently well so that pupils know and remember important knowledge.
• In a small number of subjects, in key stages 3 and 4, teachers do not check pupils' understanding well enough. This means that pupils develop gaps in their knowledge and misconceptions which go unchecked. The school should ensure that in all subjects, teachers identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge so that they can build on what they know when new learning is introduced.
• A small minority of pupils in each year group, across key stages 3 and 4, present challenging behaviour and cause disruption in some lessons and around the school. This is because the school's strategies for behaviour management are not effective in modifying the conduct of this small minority of pupils. The school should ensure that it reviews its behaviour policy and strategies for managing behaviour so that learning is not disrupted.

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