The New North Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 12 October 2021

Pupils are happy at this caring and inclusive school. They like the friendly atmosphere. From a young age, they are taught about their rights and responsibilities. The recently updated behaviour policy is used consistently and fairly by staff. This helps pupils to develop a good understanding of the importance of tolerance and respect. Pupils enjoy a wide range of activities, such as sport and music. Through these activities, leaders aim to help pupils develop into well-rounded individuals. Pupils know about different forms of bullying. They said that bullying is very rare at the school and that staff quickly sort out any problems. The number of incidents of poor behaviour is also increasingly rare. Leaders are determined to improve behaviour even further. Staff know pupils well. During the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders checked that all pupils, including those known to be vulnerable, could learn more and remain safe. New children settle quickly into the Nursery, Reception and specialist provision classes. They learn about taking turns, making friends and looking after one another. Daily reading and mathematics lessons ensure that they are suitably prepared for the next stage. Parents and carers are very positive about the school. They appreciate the wide range of opportunities that the school provides for pupils.

What the school should improve

• The new headteacher has quickly identified that some of the long-term plans for foundation subjects do not clearly identify the knowledge that needs to be taught. Links with future and previous knowledge are not clearly identified and prioritised. However, it is clear from leaders' actions that they are making the necessary improvements to the curriculum. This includes designing new curriculum plans and training staff in how to use them. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied.
• Occasionally, pupils who are at the early stages of learning to read have books that are too hard for them to read confidently. In the few instances that this happens, pupils struggle to read the books they are given. This is because some of the words go beyond pupils' phonic knowledge. Leaders should check that all books are precisely matched to pupils' current phonics knowledge.

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