The Robert Napier School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 24 September 2024

Pupils appreciate the changes that have taken place in their school recently. They are benefiting from the renewed focus on high aspiration and ambition. They feel happy and safe, with strong pastoral support in place. The school is actively working to improve pupils' behaviour. However, there are moments when a lack of pupil engagement and low-level disruptions hinder learning. The school has made significant strides in promoting good behaviour. However, routines and expectations are not fully established. Classrooms are calmer, and behaviour has improved, but high rates of suspensions and exclusions remain. This reflects the fact that a small minority of pupils are not yet acting in line with school expectations. The school offers a detailed personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education programme. The programme addresses key topics such as equality, democracy and the rule of law. However, this has not been fully embedded across the year groups. Pupils feel well supported in areas such as online safety and mental health, which they value highly. They also appreciate the variety of extra-curricular and sporting activities available to them. Disadvantaged pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), welcome the support they receive for their personal development. However, attendance remains low, particularly among these groups. The school is working hard to address poor attendance and acknowledges that this limits pupils' ability to fully benefit from the school's curriculum.

What the school should improve

• There are inconsistencies in how well the curriculum is implemented across different subjects. These inconsistencies mean that pupils do not learn and achieve as well as they could. The school needs to be more challenging in its support for staff, including further ongoing professional development and focused intervention strategies, so that the curriculum is implemented consistently well and all pupils achieve as well as they could.
• The school needs to do more to ensure that pupils attend school regularly. Too many pupils do not benefit from the education that the school provides and are falling further behind in their education. The school should ensure that it continues to devise and persist with rigorous and effective strategies that secure sustained improvement in pupils' attendance.
• The gap in the performance of disadvantaged pupils, including outcomes, attendance and behaviour, is still too large. Consequently, these pupils do not make as much progress as their peers. Further development work is needed to ensure that disadvantaged pupils are better supported in the classroom, and that their attendance and behaviour improves, so that they achieve as well as they could.
• Retention, attendance and outcomes in the sixth form are not high enough. As a result, students do not benefit as they should in the school's sixth form. Leaders need to build on the work already in place to ensure that students are enrolled on the appropriate courses, that outcomes continue to improve, and student attendance is highlighted and prioritised so that they attend and achieve well.

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