The Cedars Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 18 January 2023

Pupils thrive at Cedars Academy. All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils and students attend at one of the two sites. These have been designed to best meet pupils' individual needs. School leaders have designed pathways which reflect the very different needs of the pupils. This helps teachers to plan teaching and learning to best meet the needs of all pupils. Staff have extremely detailed knowledge of each pupil and student and have developed strong, caring relationships with them all. Most pupils behave exceptionally well. They move around the school calmly and with great respect. There are some pupils who have specific needs which lead them to struggle with self-regulation. Staff respond to these pupils with skill and patience, supporting them to learn how to better regulate themselves. Bullying is rare. Records show that when it does happen, staff act quickly to stop it. This helps pupils to feel safe in school. Pupils trust the adults who work with them. They feel that they can always go to an adult if they need support with a concern. Staff support pupils with SEND skilfully. Pupils who find communication difficult are well supported in their interactions with staff. Pupils rise to the high expectations that adults have for them. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school. Many parents made similar comments about the school, such as one parent who said, 'I think the staff at the school make a huge effort to support every child to do their best, according to their own individual needs and challenges.'

What the school should improve

• In a small number of subject areas, the school's curriculum is not fully developed, because a small number of subject leaders are new to their roles and are in the early stages of monitoring the implementation of their subject area. Therefore, they do not yet provide appropriate levels of challenge to teachers in order to make sure that the curriculum is implemented as intended. Leaders should ensure that new subject leaders develop the necessary skills to lead their area of responsibility effectively.
• Recent changes in school leadership and at trust level have impacted on the overall leadership in school. At trust level, there is a lack of clarity over who will support school leaders and in which area. Trustees should ensure that these roles are implemented rapidly in order to ensure that appropriate levels of support and accountability are maintained.

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